Card-Sharp
by VintagexTypewriter
Summary: Life and death. Two sides of the same coin and, with her second chance at life, Wren was going to change the world around her for the better come Hell or high water. Self-insert.
1. Kiss the sky (Shawn Lee)

Hello everyone, my name is Vintage Typewriter and I welcome you to my first step into the world of fanfiction.

Before you begin I would like to draw your attention to three other stories and their writers who helped inspire this story:

Tell it to the Marines by Tsume Yuki

Catch Your Breath by Lang Noi

Dreaming of Sunshine by Silver Queen

I would recommend each and every one of you to read those stories yourself and give them the love they deserve.

Any ways, on with the show.

* * *

Volca was a small island situated well into the middle of the Grand Line but was rarely visited by any up and coming pirates as they tended to view it as a useless stop on their way to the New World. For those pirates that did stop however, they were usually surprised at just how big the main city was on such a small island.

The Red Force, a ship captained by the young pirate captain "Red-Haired" Shanks was one of the few captains that would voluntarily dock at the island any time it came into sight. Most would assume that the young upstart and rookie would only chose to appear at this island because of the sake a majority of the people who ever stopped at the island would claim was the best in the New World.

Those people would have assumed wrong.

Though Shanks would be the first to agree that the sake that was produced on Volca was some of the best he had ever tasted, only second best to the sake that came from his hometown in the West Blue, he had an ulterior motive for docking at this island.

Back when he had still been a cabin boy on the Oro Jackson under Captain Roger, he had gotten his first taste of not only the alcohol that the island produced but also the people who lived there.

Particularly a young pink haired girl with striking seafoam green eyes that had single handedly flipped a full grown man over her back and shoulders with one hand when it was obvious he wanted something she was not willing to give up, no matter how much she had to drink that night. And did it all without spilling her drink.

Brushing off a good bit of ribbing from his captain and Buggy, Shanks would for years deny that he had fallen in love with the pink haired woman that night - the moment she had turned to him and simply uttered "Hey, can you do me a solid" he was gone - and just spend years being her friend, being the person she would go to with all her troubles whenever the Oro Jackson and later the Red Force would dock at the island. And maybe it was all those years of pining after the woman but never acting on his affections that had slowly changed his feelings for her without his knowing so when they had both agreed "Fuck it" and tried to start...something, they had just laughed it off and claimed that they would never work as lovers but made for pretty excellent partners in crime.

So when the Red Force had docked, and he had disembarked to find that there was no pink haired woman, a roguish smile on her face with one hand on a cocked hip, he had been slightly worried - he would deny that he had panicked as much as Benn would argue he had - so he made the calm, and yes it was calm and did not include his crew trying to settle him down to think it through - decision to visit her at her home.

It was a simple one story cottage on the edge of town with a beautiful view over a large body of water mere steps from the back door, lined with various plants leading up to the front porch where a simple swing hung from two chains.

The only thing that had tipped him off to something being wrong, or even amiss, was the amount of weeds popping from from between all the plant life.

He knew that Tifa took pride in how immaculate her gardens were, always made it a point to rope Shanks into helping her out with the grunt work by bribing him with sake and not following through on it until he was planning to leave and she 'conveniently' remembered she owed him for weeding her garden. She always made it a point to do this loudly and in front of his crew so that they could have some blackmail on him, Benn had told him that they were planning on selling the information if they ever needed too.

Traitors, the lot of them.

Catching sight of the small purple blanket hanging over the ledge of the front porch railing, Shanks at first didn't think much or it - Tifa was a seamstress who worked out of her home so it probably just belonged to a customer that just forgot it - until he stepped in front the front door expecting to see the immaculate house that never had a speck of dust and found what he could only say looked like a small tornado had formed inside of.

There were fabrics hanging from a ceiling fan - how? - there was what looked like food on the ceiling dripping down onto an open child's book - what? - and there were various children's toys all over the floor acting as landmines he had to navigate through.

"Ah, Tifa?" He called out, dodging an open jack-in-the-box, trying to make his way to the large archway that he knew from experience led to the kitchen.

"Shit-I mean Fuck-shit, ah damn it!" He raised an eyebrow as he heard the clanging of pans knocking together as Tifa swore loudly, something she only ever did when stressed beyond belief. "Damn it! Shanks! Get your ass in here. Oh no-don't cry!" That had him slightly panicking, who was here that she was so worried about. "Shanks! Now!" He knew better than to ignore the pinkette, even if he couldn't see her.

What he expected was far from what he got.

Looking back at what he had traversed through, he should have clued in to just what he was walking in on.

But instead he was struck, dumbstruck as the normally put together pink haired woman he had come to love turned in his direction holding a small bundle that was wailing like a banshee. Granted, he would argue that no one would have expect the woman who for many years loudly proclaimed she would never have a child using the reasoning that they were 'no good, money sucking terrors' and would 'gladly fight a seaking barehanded than give birth to a kid'.

"Don't just stand there, get me that damn bottle!" His movements were almost robotic as he hesitantly held the warm bottle of milk that had been sitting on the counter out for Tifa to grab and watched silently as the pink haired woman adjusted the bundle in her arms enough so he could see the tuft of red hair - the same shade he would see every time he looked in a mirror - framing a round face with the same green eyes that Tifa held, bright seafoam green iris with no pupil and a thin black ring containing the colour. "There, maybe now you'll stop screaming bloody murder." Tifa sighed, slumping down into one of the two chairs at a small table built for two.

Hair messily pulled into a low ponytail, a white stained button up shirt only half tucked into clashing lime green pants equally as stained, shoe less and definitely tired seeing as the bags under her eyes had bags was just how ruffled Tifa looked when Shanks finally pulled his gaze away from the child in her arms and finally looked at the woman he hadn't seen in almost a year.

A year since they had both tried to be more than friends and both agreed that they would never work as a couple.

A year since that night they both joked was just another story they could share when they got older.

And now, here was Tifa a year later holding a child - an infant - that couldn't be any older than three months if even that. A child that had the same shade of hair as himself, the same seafoam green eyes that could stop a dealing dead that were wide and had yet to decide if they would remain that way or become narrowed like his with a small button nose that Tifa herself possessed.

"She's yours, before you ask." He dragged his eyes up to meet Tifa's own tired green ones. "Turns out, once was enough so thanks." There was that roguish smile she would always give him, just with obvious exhaustion behind it. "So much for never having kids, huh."

"Tifa." He began. But, what was there to say. He was sorry? If he had known? That night was a mistake even if he didn't regret it?

"Shanks, so help me if you start apologizing I will kick your ass with one hand while still holding Wren in the other." She shot him a tired glare with narrowed eyes but he wasn't focusing on that; he was focusing on the fact he now had a name for the little girl she was holding.

The little girl.

Wren.

His daughter.

 _His_ little girl, _his_ daughter, _his_ Wren.

"How old is she?" He found his voice as Tifa set the bottle down on the little table and proceeded to burp the little girl, catching sight of the small hands fisted in a combination of pink hair falling out of the ponytail and shirt that her mother was wearing.

"Just under three months. Hey, do me a solid and hold her like this. Make sure you support her head or your head will roll. Oh and watch out, she loves pulling hair." He is given no choice to argue against holding the small bundle that is his daughter as Tifa made herself busy by trying to clean the place up some. The operative word being 'tried'. "I haven't had a shower in two days, you're good holding her right? Cool, I'll be back in twenty."

"Wait-what? Tifa!" He called after the pink haired woman but no answer in return except for a shirt being thrown at his face with a call of 'Throw that in the trash when you get a sec'. Leaving him alone save for the baby that had been quiet up to that point, staring at him with those seafoam green eyes.

"Well kid, I guess it just you and me for now." He stared down at his daughter, watching as she was able to squirm her arms out of where they had been wrapped up in what looked like had once been one of Tifa's dish rags. Readjusting his grip on his daughter, Shanks had to resist the urge to jerk his head back when Wren had quicker than he thought possible for a child as young as her got a fist full of his hair and pulled, hard.

Why hadn't Tifa sent word to him? She had the number to his transponder snail and years ago he had given her, a white one so that there was little to no chance of someone listening in on their conversation that wasn't in the room with them as they talked.

Another tug on his hair that yanked his head to the side. Little girl had quite the grip.

"Oh, you definitely are Tifa's kid." Wren just gave him a gummy smile in return and tugged again on his hair, this time Shanks was expecting it so it wasn't quite the jerk on his head.

Her seafoam coloured eyes met him and if she was older Shanks could have sworn that she was trying to stare him down but for now it just looked like she was seconds away from bursting into tears gong from the pinched look on her face.

"Don't forget, you played a part in creating that little monster." Tifa's voice rang out from behind him - had it already been twenty minutes? - and when she leant over his shoulder it was stark contrast to how she looked earlier. "But, she's our little monster." Pink hair fell in front of his face as he felt lips on the crown of his head. "God, aren't we just the definition of domestication. It's sicking." A gurgle from Wren. "Yeah, I guess you're pretty cute when you're not trying to wake sleeping seakings." A pale hand rubbed Wren's head gently, brushing the red locks back out of her face. "We made a pretty cute kid, didn't we."

"Yeah, takes after her mother that's for sure."

A snort, "Don't let this innocent face fool you, she definitely acts like a young cocksure cabin boy who literally tripped and spilt sake on himself the first time I met him." Arms wrapped around his shoulders clasping in front of his chest. "Before you ask, and I know you've been thinking about it, I didn't need to send you a letter. You are nothing if not a creature of habit so I knew that you'd be back within the year, it was just a matter of when."

Shanks lent back against Tifa, "Who knows that she's my daughter?" If the marines ever got wind that he had a child - an infant, a baby who couldn't even hold her own head up, right now - than he can only imagine what they would do to find her; if they were willing to slaughter women and children that they thought were connected to a dead man then what were they willing to do when he was still alive?

"It's not hard to tell, and the people living here are not idiots. They also know just how important it is for the marines to not know she exist until she can survive on her own. We all can guess just how far the marines would be willing to go and the sins of the parent should never be the sins of the child." Her grip tightened around his shoulder and he could hear the venom in her words. Tifa was not a weak woman, she would fight tooth and nail until her last dying breath to make sure that her daughter, their daughter, survived anything the marines threw at her.

"They'd have to go through me first to get to her." Shank could feel his eyes harden at even the thought of the marines coming after Tifa and and the now sleeping Wren. Over his dead body would anything ever happen to these two.

* * *

"Come on Wren, come to papa." Squatting down in a low crouch, Shanks couldn't keep the grin off his face as Wren, on unsteady legs teetered from side to side as her pudgy hands released the edge of the wooden chair in the living room to make the four foot journey into his arms. "Come on little Songbird." He couldn't keep the grin off his face at the look on concentration on little Wren's face as she focused on each step.

She was the most adorable child he had ever seen and maybe he was a bit biased but he had never seen a child that could pull off his shade of hair but with Tifa's everything else and still look so damn adorable.

"Songbird? Really Shanks." He could feel Tifa's gaze on his back but was too focused on the fact that Wren had grabbed one of his arms to help keep herself balanced and then let go, whereas other children would have continued to hold on, to continue her path into his arms.

"What? You're just jealous that you didn't think of it first." He grin letting out a peal of joy as Wren's head smacked him in the chest, making him lift her up from her armpits and spin her around with a smile on both of their faces. "Isn't that right, little Songbird, mama's just jealous that she didn't think of that nickname first."

Wren's little arms flailed as she let out a squeal of joy with a toothy grin, her red curls bouncing freely not yet weighed down by how thick they would get to be if she was going to inherit her mother's genes.

"Uh huh, what ever helps you sleep at night." Tifa snarky voiced chimed in over the sounds of fabric being cut. "Your daddy's a dumbass, isn't he Birdie?"

Shanks shot his own daughter a disbelieving look as the toddler nodded, a smile on her face with eyes closed but upturned slightly to show her joy, "Yup, daddy dumbass." His look of semi-disbelief dropped as did his jaw at his daughter's first word, well words. And only a child of Tifa would chose her first words to include a swear.

"Birdie! Your first words!" Wren was plucked from out of his outstretched arms as Tifa abandoned her work, spinning around with a laughing child in her arms, curls bouncing about her head. "Those dumbasses down at the bar don't know shit, I knew you'd start talking when you were ready."

"Tifa!" His hands flew to his hair, taking fistfuls into his hands as his jaw dropped. "Her first word was calling me a dumbass! What are you teaching our child! She's going to grow up swearing I just know it. My innocent little girl is going to have the mouth of a sailor." He wailed, thumping his head against the arch of the doorway leading to the kitchen. His little girl was only a year old and couldn't be swearing already!

"Oh, don't worry so much, she was going to learn how to swear eventually. At least now we can get her started early and she can create some unique combinations when she gets older." Tifa nestled her face against Wren's, "Isn't that right Birdie, gotta keep everyone on their toes and shock them with creative swears." She shot him a look, seafoam green eyes shining with mirth, "Your daddy is just overreacting for no reason, do you know why?"

"Daddy dumbass." Came Wren's cheery response as she and Tifa began laughing as he was set into another fit.

* * *

"Daddy!" Shanks barely even got a foot in the town before small arms wrapped themselves around his legs, seafoam green eyes wide and full of joy at seeing him for the first time in a year. "You're back! Mama said you were taking your sweet ass time docking." He had to steel himself from reacting to Wren swearing. Honestly, he was mostly surprised that every other word wasn't a swear given who her mother was.

"Yeah, what else did your mama say." He lifted Wren up, setting her on his hip as she leant her head on his shoulder at the new height.

"That's you're a no good mooch who needs to weed the garden before he heads back out to sea or so help her she will drag you back by your stupid straw hat and personally kick your ass until the job is done. All without spilling her drink." Wren chirped happily with a smile on her face much to the chagrin of her father as they walked around the edge of the town and headed down the dirt path leading to Tifa's.

She was turning into a mini Tifa and that worried him. One Tifa was enough, another Tifa being released onto the world was just asking for trouble. It especially worried him because this was his little girl, his little Songbird, and as much as he loved Tifa it took a special type of person to 'click' with her personality and if his daughter was becoming just like her mother than that personality could get her in trouble with the wrong crowd.

"And don't think I won't do it, right Birdie." Tifa rung her hands clean with a rag before tossing it over her shoulder so it landed in the sink situated in her kitchen and pulled her pink hair up into a high bun. "Don't you have something you wanted to give your dad, Birdie?" He had a moment of panic as Wren escaped his grip - how? He could have sworn he had a tight grip on her? - landing in a perfect crouch on the balls of her feet before tearing off down the hall to her room, Tifa and himself flinching when the sound of something breaking caught their ears. "That would be the hallway vase. Again. For the fifth time this month."

"Terrible twos that bad?" Shanks smirked as Tifa flopped herself down on the two seater couch, throwing an arm over her eyes as she left out a loud sigh.

"I wish." Tifa lifted her arm off her eyes just long enough to level him with a look as he moved her feet and set them on his lap as he sat on the other side of the couch. "I think I would prefer the screaming and temper tantrums but no I get the most hyperactive two year old I've ever seen. Hell, the brats I see the other woman dragging through town never have as much energy as Wren. I blame you." He could hear the teasing in her voice as she dug her heel into his thigh, joking jabbing him in the side with two of her fingers to drive home the point.

Going to open his mouth, Shanks let out an oomph as small arms wrapped themselves around his neck, one pudgy hand - slimmer than what it had been when she was younger - holding a small brown package wrapped with a ridiculous amount of tape and a sparkling orange bow. The letters 'Happy Birthday Daddy' scribbled out in different colours for each letter.

"What do you got there, Songbird?" He plucked Wren up by the back of her shirt - always a shirt, never a dress as Tifa and Wren both hated them with burning passions as they had both loudly proclaimed - without having to turn around. Wren didn't seem to mind being held up in front of his face by the back of her shirt and shot him a large toothy grin, holding out the package only inches away from his nose.

"It's for you." Wren thrust the package closer to his face, bumping it against his nose as she still had yet to properly judge depth perception. "It was meant to be a birthday present but you didn't show up around the time mama says you usually would." That was true. He would usually come to island either in the late spring or early summer but with his new bounty that was steadily growing with each encounter he had with the marines, it was getting harder to leave the New World and so he had only been able to sneak away by the time autumn had come around. "Sorry it's so late." He couldn't help but chuckle at the downcast look, adjusting her so she now sat against his back and held her there with one arm as the other careful took the package out of her hands.

"Let's see what we have here." He hummed, taking the small package no bigger than the palm of his hand. "Did you pick this out Songbird?" He carefully peeled off the bow dropping it on his daughter's head and earning a giggle from the little girl.

"Mama helped!" She chirped happily, all but vibrating with excitement, and Shanks had to jerk his head back to avoid getting smacked in the face by a wayward hand.

Under all the tape and brown packaging was a simple nondescript black box that gave no hint as to what was nestled inside. Lightly shaking it side to side resulted in no noise so it either was sitting on something making it quiet or move silently or what ever was in the box was literally the same size as what it was sitting in.

It was probably cliche of him to think it but what he found when he popped off the top of the box was not what he had been expecting.

It was a simple silver chain, from the looks only really polished steel made to look like silver, surrounding a square shaped locket, opened, showing a small picture of himself lying on this exact seat with his hat pulled over his face. One hand thrown behind his head while the other was holding a sleeping Wren to his chest, her small hands holding fistfuls of his white shirt.

"Do you like it?" Wren's little voice questioned, swinging her head from side to side trying to get a good look at Shanks as the man in question careful picked the necklace up by the chain, watching as the open locket spun back and forth.

Closing his fist around the locket, Shanks dragged Wren closer to his chest, leaning his head down so his lips touched the crown of her head, laying a light kiss on the red hair, tilting his head to meet the seafoam mirthful eyes of Tifa, grabbing one of her hands in his own. "I love it Songbird."

* * *

Her face was wrong; it should have been round not beginning to become heart shaped. Her skin colour was wrong; it should have been a nice caramel tone ("It looks like a shot of espresso and milk." "It does not!") not pale. Her hair was wrong; where was her natural raven locks, and when had she gained hair that rivaled the colour of blood?. Her eyes were most definitely wrong; where were her hazel eyes that she had once been so proud of and when had she gained seafoam green pupil less eyes that while looking bright also somehow looked dull, like she could stare someone down and look like she didn't care.

When had one Charlotte Dean become one Foley Wren? Actually, it wasn't that hard to tell when she had become Foley Wren - last name first? - as she was just over three years old now where as she could distinctly remember being being twenty two and walking home when...something had happened and now she was here.

Here being a world she remembered reading when she had been a teenager and young adult but had stopped really paying attention to it after the Marineford Arc for obvious reasons. Life had gotten in the way not long after and so she only read the odd chapter here and there getting the jist of what was going on but still missing large chunks of information.

But it did not take a rocket scientist for her to realize that something had to have happened to her - to Charlotte - and now she was here, now she was Wren.

Wren, the daughter of Foley Tifa - "Hey, can you do me a solid?" - and Red-Haired - "Tifa, no. Tifa, stop." - Shanks. Because being born into a world that should not exist wasn't bad enough, she was now the daughter of the youngest and newest Emperor - or was he still just some up start pirate? - and if she knew anything about the marines the moment they knew she existed she was in trouble.

If she lived long enough that was. As far as she could remember, never on any page or in any adaptation, had there ever been a girl that was the daughter of Red-Haired Shanks. Never any mention from any of the main characters, not any extra tidbits given by the creator of the story, there was no mention of someone like her ever existing.

Maybe, maybe Wren had existed before but hadn't lived long enough to make an impact on the story. If that was so, were her days numbered? Would she live long enough to actually make any sort of impact on the story?

No, she would make sure that Wren, that she, survived long enough to make an impact on the story. Her own life be damned, she was alive now and she would make sure that she would die first before anyone else she got close too. After all what was one life of someone who shouldn't exist to the lives of many that should, to the lives of those who hadn't already lived once.

It was almost depressing to her. Here were two people who hadn't wanted a child but got one but not the one they should have, instead they got a child with a literal old soul, a soul that had already lived a past life and remembered some of it.

"What's wrong, Birdie?" Wren met the seafoam green eyes of her mother, she had to resist the urge to flinch as memories of her first mother - brown hair, blue eyes - flashed through her mind, and tried to play off the fact she had just spent the better part of five minutes staring off into space.

"Nothing mama." She was mama for now because mother was too formal and mom was still the woman from the other world, from the Before. "Just thinking about papa." Shanks was papa, never dad or daddy because that was a man older than her first mother with black hair and hazel eyes that had a quiet personality that complimented her first mother's own loud one.

A sigh, as two hands lifted her up and caused a squeak to escape her lips, and soon Wren found herself sitting with legs on either side of her mother's head so now both women were facing the sea, her hands holding fistfuls of the pink hair - not brown because this was not mom - as her mama held her bony legs.

The sea was peaceful, calm, and Wren could understand just why it drew so many people to try and conquer it. She could understand just why Roger had decided to venture out all those years ago seeking freedom in the form of the sea, and why her father who loved both herself and her mother, because it was painfully obvious even to her as a three year old that he did love the two of them, kept heading back out to sea after visiting for a few weeks at a time.

When Shanks - papa - came back to the island for his yearly visit she would have to ask him about Haki and beginning training to use Haki because if she was going to make herself useful in this the world then the first step would be learning to control her 'ambition' or 'will power' or whatever they called it in this world.

Though if he wasn't back by the end of the month, Wren was fully prepared to take charge of her own training until he got back.

* * *

A/N

Well, I hope you all enjoyed the first step on Wren's story. Don't forget to drop a review telling me what you liked, disliked, or thought could be improved.

Also, I kinda made a thing for this profile:

Do with that what you will.


	2. Riptide (Vance Joy)

It was rumoured that Red-Haired Shanks frequented the small summer island of Volca at least once a year. Well, not so much rumoured as he outwardly admitted that anytime he ran out of the best sake this side of Reverse mountain, he made sure to stop at the island. And with the confirmed sightings of the Red Force in the East Blue, Pops had chosen to direct the Moby Dick to set course for the island, lest he give the other pirate - 'Red-Haired upstart' Pops would grumble - the idea that he was right.

Of course, the rest of the crew was just happy to get off the ship for even a day or two - or however long Pops wanted to stay - and the promise of even half decent alcohol was an added bonus for a majority of them. Even if it ended up with him being a headache because as commander of the first division and unaffected by alcohol because of his devil fruit, he would be the one left to clean up the mess left by his brothers and sisters.

Of course, said brothers and sisters along with Pops continued to give him a hard time telling him to 'loosen up' and 'live a little, you giant blue chicken' but of course if he did that then there was a ninety percent chance that the Moby Dick would 'accidentally' catch fire.

Again.

For the fourth time.

In a month.

Not like that stopped his siblings from trying to convince him to get drunk when they themselves were three sheets to the wind. And Pops was never any help, in fact he would often encourage his other children to try and rope him into drinking with them.

That was how he found himself visiting a few of the local businesses that his siblings had ignored in hopes of finding supplies that they were running low on, the most prominent being of course alcohol and both dried meat and fruit. As the only sober one, and clearly the only adult on the crew, it was his job to make sure they could last until the next island.

So when he exited a store owned by a lovely elderly couple who welcomed him with opened arms even though he was a pirate, he had to stop as the sound of a child's squeal caught his ears. Most people wouldn't have thought much of the noise, but him being the only person on the street and having been the oldest sibling on the crew - and he would deny until his dying day that it was his 'mother hen' tendency - that drove him to investigate, because children didn't make that noise unless they were in distress.

Turning the corner of the street, he had not been expecting to find three children, two obviously older with one clearly being a follower and the other being the leader standing over a small red haired girl - that colour was so familiar but on a much younger body - who couldn't be older than three or four that they had clearly knocked over if the way she was sitting on the ground was anything to go off of.

"What's going on over here?" Slowly striding over, he met the eyes of the red-haired girl and instantly forgot how similar her hair was in exchange for noting just how eerie those seafoam green coloured eyes were, especially when they were filled with the fire she was shooting the older - and they were clearly older - boys standing above her.

"Stay out of this old man." The leader of the two boys - waist height, mud brown hair, stocky - called over his shoulder, not even bothering to turn around and see just who was approaching him. "This is between us, and the freak."

"Yeah." The follower - black hair, thin frame, shaking like a leaf - stammered out.

He could only watch as the little girl pulled herself up, brushing off both the hate filled words with a dull expression, the only sign his words affected her was the clenching of one fist, and brushing off the literally dust on her cream pants and purple top. "You done?" He couldn't help but smirk at the deadpan answer the young girl leveled the other two boys with. "Because, I've got places to be."

This seemed to infuriate the lead boy, the other boy who was the follower kept nervous shifting his weight from side to side and casting fleeting glances over his shoulder at him, who visibly tensed and took a threatening step towards the girl. "At least I know who my father is. Your mom probably sleeps with every-"

It happened in split second.

One second saw the lead boy standing a head above the seafoam green eyed girl and the next he was down on the ground holding his now bleeding nose as the seafoam green eyed girl now stood above the boy who had been tormenting her, the black coating of Armament Haki receding from her outstretched fist - thumb over curled fingers, arm rotating with the follow through - shocking the first division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates from the blatant use of Haki by a three year old.

This might have been the Grand Line but a child in their single digits using Haki - Armament at that - was a rare sight.

Pops would want to know. Pops _should_ know.

"Don't. Insult. My. Mama." The girl hissed, spitting at the boy on the ground not even sparing the raven haired boy a look as he collected his leader off the ground, the mud brown haired boy calling back with a shaking voice that he was going to tell his father. "Idiots." The blue-green eyes turned to him and if he had been anyone else he probably would have been unnerved at how this little girl seemed to be eyeing him up before lighting up with recognition when settling on his chest tattoo.

"That was pretty impressive, kid." He knelt down, coming eye level with the seafoam green eyed child. "Where does a five year old learn how to use Haki?" He ran his own teal eyes over the girl; purple shirt dirtied, cream pants dirty, brown boots scuffed up, seafoam green eyes, heart shaped face, button nose, and red hair tied up in pigtails with white bands with some curly locks having fallen out from the fight.

"Four." His eyes dragged themselves down from the red hair - just where had he seen that shade before? - to meet those blue-green eyes once more. "I'm four, not five." Yes, because her age was the most important thing right now, not the fact that a four year old was able to use Haki. "And I taught myself."

Wait. What? This kid taught herself?

"So, are we done here because my mama's been expecting me for the past ten minutes?"

How in the world did a four year old kid learn how to teach herself how to use Haki? And on top of that, when did this kid start learning how to use Haki, it took himself years of practice and help from Pops himself to use Haki to some degree of success and here was this kid who train herself using Armament.

"Well, I'm going now. Nice meeting you Marco."

Wait. What?

Marco went to stop the girl, grab the ends of her shirt put she had already taken off down the street, disappearing around the street corner before he could stop her. Even when trying to locate her using Observation Haki he had no luck.

How did she know his name and been so sure of herself when calling out his name, he never introduced himself and he couldn't believe that she would have seen his bounty poster before as his bounty hadn't gone up in years? How did someone so young have such old eyes, the last time he had seen eyes like that was when Roger and Pops met up again just after the man had returned from Raftel? How did she learn to use Armament Haki by herself? And how did a four year old learn how to smother her aura to the point that not even he could pick her out of the villagers, it was like trying to find a leaf in a forest? That was something only the most experienced of Haki users could do.

This kid was going to grow up to be someone interesting.

Someone Pops should be alerted too.

* * *

His captain may have been one of the most feared men by a majority of the marines - and respected by the rest for the power he held - but the man could not keep anything secret from his crew no matter how hard he tried so it was no surprise to them when, after receiving a call via transponder snail, he had immediately changed course for the Grand Line - for Volca to be exact - with no other explanation than something had come up.

They weren't stupid, it hadn't hard to put two and two together whenever they had docked at the small summer island in the middle of the Grand Line.

It had also helped when the mayor, a nice elderly fellow who had been mayor when the Roger Pirates had first started to stop at the island, had admitted to them that the pink haired woman that each crew member on board the Red Force knew as a close 'friend' of their captain had a daughter with the same red hair that their own captain had.

So they let him have his time away from them, let him be the father his daughter needed when he was around, and knew that he would eventually introduce his daughter - Foley Wren as the mayor had happily informed them - when he was ready or, more likely, when Tifa finally kicked his ass into gear.

Something big in that letter had to have spooked him, there was no other explanation as to why they had to pack up and leave in the middle of a party, so they had all agreed to let their captain have a day with his girls before they took it upon themselves to introduce themselves to the mini red head.

It was only his hand on his captains shoulder that stopped the man from disappearing once they were fully docked to find his knew why they were here, something had to have happened to one of his girls, and they would give him the day to check in to both make sure they were okay and to reassure himself that nothing had happened but they wanted to met his daughter while they were here this time.

"Tomorrow." Shanks had agreed, "Tifa and I will bring her to the bar tomorrow. It's about time she met you all anyway."

So he had relayed that note to the rest of the crew, each of them agreeing that the occasion was one that they needed to be one hundred percent sober for, and for a crew that was infamous for celebrating everything with a party, it was a great test of willpower for them all to head to the bar they always frequented and not touch a drop of alcohol.

It's not long after they all find themselves in their favourite bar the next day, did a flash of red out of the corner of his eye catch his attention. What he had been expecting was to meet the familiar face of his captain, what he hadn't been expecting was the turn his head and meet familiar seafoam green eyes, light in colour with no pupils and a thick ring around the seafoam green, on a face that had red strands of hair escaping a small ponytail framing it.

There was no arguing just who this kid';s parents were.

"Hi." The girl chirped drawing the attention of each crew member, many quiet but still audible breaths hitching once eyes are laid on the girl because yes, they had been expecting the captain's daughter but they weren't expecting the literal combination of both parents best genes.

Most people would either focus on the girl's eyes or hair but he was the sniper on the crew, it was his job to notice the small details. Outwardly, the kid was a carbon copy of her mother just with her father's hair but he could see the subtle influences Shanks' blood had on the kid, like the fact her eyes were starting to take the narrow shape of Shanks'.

But what he noticed the most were those eyes of hers. Not the colour because he had met Tifa and was used to seeing seafoam green eyes like hers but it was just how intelligent those eyes were and just how she trailed her eyes over each and everyone of them, judging them, taking stock of them.

Analyzing them.

There was no other word for it other than the fact the kid, who couldn't be more than four or five, was analyzing each of them. Only giving them a honest smile when it seemed she decided they either she could trust them or maybe that yes, these people were on her father's crew.

"Right. Wren, meet the crew. Crew, meet my little Wren." Hands came down on either of Wren's shoulders as Shanks beamed a smile at them over his daughter's head, Tifa shaking her head at his antics as she passed. Though Shanks might have been smiling at them, there was a promise in that smile that he would not take kindly to any bad word being directed at his girls.

He was quite fine not being on that shit list.

"Hey there little Wren." He stuck his hand out to the little red haired girl, catching her eyes. "I'm-"

"Yasopp. The crew's sniper." How did she? "I've seen your bounty poster." Ah, that would be it. "s it true that papa would be dead without you, Roo, and Benn?"

Papa.

That word is the damning proof, along with that shade of red hair, that his captain has fathered a child with the women he loved, or at least at one point thought he loved enough to start some sort of relationship with. Much like himself in that regards with his own boy and wife back at Syrup Village in the East Blue.

He chuckles, ruffling her hair - curly locks from how short it is must be from Tifa's blood as Shanks' hair never had any volume - with one hand. "Let me tell you a story about how your dad decided to go off on his own one day and almost got eaten by a beetle twice the size of himself and how Benn and I had to rescue him."

That grin she shoots him is all Shanks and Yasopp knows right then and there that everyone on the crew - both new and old - knew that if the marines ever got their hands on this lovely little girl that the Red-Haired Pirates would raze each and everyone of their bases to get her back.

* * *

It's only when Wren in almost five years old does Shanks realize just how special his only child and daughter is. Granted, most parents always claim that any child of theirs is special but he is the only one that gets to truly claim that.

Because how many parents can claim that their four - almost five - year old can use Armament Haki with no proper training.

And that was most definitely Armament Haki coating her hand and wrist black as she picked up various rocks lining the pathway up to Tifa's home, and she hadn't seemed to notice that he has stopped weeding the garden just focusing on picking up the once round stones, and snapping them in two with her tiny fingers.

"What do you have there, Songbird?" He watches as the stone his daughter had clenched in her fist crumples to dust as she jumps in surprise and spins to face him with wide seafoam green eyes.

"Papa?" He watches as she tilts her head at him, hand still clenched tight with fine grains sneaking out from the cracks between her fingers, still pudgy put growing slimmer each time he sees her as she gets older.

Had it really only been almost five years since he walked into Tifa home to be handed a child about the length of his forearm and now here she was walking, talking, and using Haki like it was no big deal.

From an infant with curly red hair, to a toddler with pudgy limbs, to a young girl with half picked scabs and hair tied up in two pigtails on either side, hair keeping some of the curls but slowly losing the curl. His daughter is growing up before his eyes, and growing up to be a beautiful woman given who her mother is and that causes worry down in his gut that he pushes aside in order to study his daughter as she goes back to crushing stones in her hands.

"Has your mom been teaching you?" Tifa had some skill in both Armament and Observation Haki so maybe she had been teaching Wren without telling him, that would be something she would do to keep him on his toes.

"Nope." Wren chirps, turning another stone the size of her palm to dust. "Mama's been busy. So I taught myself." She shrugs like it's no big deal, like it was normal for a four year old to teach herself how to use Haki to the extent she has.

"Okay." He nods. If her Armament is as good as it is for her age, then he wonders how good her Observation is. "Do you know about Observation?"He can't help but grin as Wren nods, dropping the stone - five perfect indents from her fingers now on its surface - she had picked up, and suppresses her aura, not by much but enough that the average Haki user would have a hard time picking her out of a crowd.

How in the world?

"Where'd you learn to do that, Songbird?" Because his child just performed one of the most difficult abilities associated with Observational Haki and she's only four years old. Something he has never heard of someone so young doing.

"I taught myself." Her voice is full of childish pride, and that's just proof that she doesn't understand the ramifications of what she has just accomplished. "Mama said it scared her the first time I did it because she could feel me one minute and the next I was gone. What did she mean by feel me?"

He steels his expression because sitting in front of him and his own flesh and blood is probably the next coming of old man Rayleigh if she really put her mind to it. "Nothing kiddo." He ruffled her hair earning a squeal of delight as she tries to pull away. "You keep practicing, I'm going to go talk with your mom for a minute." He couldn't help but grin at her when she gave him an enthusiastic nod of her head, ruffling her hair with one hand and jabbing her softly in the chest earning a giggle from the young girl as she happily picked up yet another stone, crushing it easily in her fist.

"Hey Shanks, can you do me a solid?" Of course those were the first words out of Tifa's mouth as she didn't even turn around to face him as he walked in through the front door.

"Last time I agreed to that statement I found myself striped of my breeches and modeling a dress in front of a bunch of sexually questionable men." He pulled up one of the spare chairs from the dining room table, through his legs on either side of the chair back, watching as Tifa held a needle in her mouth as she angled the fabric she was working on.

"You shush." She smacked his arm lightly, "That dress was for one of my best customers and the wedding was beautiful. You almost wore that dress better than the groom himself. And I don't know if you've noticed, but I've got more of a chest than you do so I couldn't wear it properly." She fed the fabric, now obviously the beginnings of a shirt, through the machine in front of her. "You've got that look on your face, what's up?"

He rubbed a hand over his face, "You know Wren can use Haki?"

She hummed, taking her foot off the pedal of the sewing machine, "I figured as much. Not that hard to figure out with the amount of stones in my garden that now have tiny finger indents in them. Add that to the fact I'm always using Observation Haki when I can't see her so I know where she is because she is somehow able to suppress her aura and let me tell you, I lost five years of my life panicking over that and I'm sure I've got five new grey hairs as well."

"Mother knows all."He couldn't help but chuckle before letting out a soft sigh. "I can stay two more, maybe three more days before the marines start getting antsy and start investigating why I'm here but I'll do what I can in helping her develop her Haki but could you-"

"Take over where you leave off?" She finished, pinning two pieces of fabric together. "I was planning on teaching her myself once she hit five but I guess now is as good as any." She stretched her arms way above her head, lifting her shirt up exposing her taut stomach - not that Shanks was looking. "I'll have to break out my old training daggers and get her started on those as well." Shanks let out a strangled yelp earning a roll of the eyes from Tifa. "Honestly, you think I'm not going to train my daughter to use a weapon that can be hidden? You can stick a knife - dagger in this case - in a bra better than you can a sword."

She...did have a point. As perturbing as that thought was, daggers were easier to hide on a body than swords were.

It wasn't hard to deduce that Tifa had hidden daggers in her bra before - that had been fun to discover the night they said "Fuck it" - and teaching their daughter to do the same caused unwanted images to pop into his mind.

An older Wren looking almost exactly like her mother, down to her...well-endowed chest, wearing the same clothing her mother would wear out of the house - cut off low cut tops, short shorts - giving boys killer smiles that caused them to run after her with less than innocent thoughts running through their head.

Oh, he hadn't even thought of the boys that would be after his grown up little Songbird.

She would grow up to be beautiful, that much he was sure of, and that would attract boys who would want to date his beautiful girl but he wasn'tt going to let that happen, over his dead body would anyone even get to even think about dating his daughter. She would not be allowed to date until she was thirty-

No.

Thirty was too soon.

She would not be allowed to date anyone until someone found the One Piece.

And seeing as how it had almost been a decade since Captain Roger had hid it from the world, there was little chance in anyone finding it anytime soon and therefore no chance that anyone would even think about dating his daughter.

"Oi,"Tifa smacked him on the head dragging him from his thoughts, "get that murderous look off your face and stop thinking about our daughter dating when she gets older." How did she know what was going through his head? "Because you're not thinking them, dumbass." Oh, that made sense. "Of course it does. Now get the frickity frack out of my house so I can get some work done or the first thing I'll teach her is how to hit a moving target with you as the target. Now go entertain our daughter because I can feel her getting bored out there." Pushy woman. "I heard that asshole."

He laughed, dodging the book thrown at the doorway he escaped out of, hopping down the steps and scooping up Wren just as she crumbled the last stone from her pile. What was it that Tifa had said, "Now was as good a time as any?"

"Come on, Songbird. Daddy's gonna teach you how to use Armament Haki to knock down a tree with a single punch."

* * *

There were three brothers, sworn brothers but brothers all the same, that much she knew. One the son of a corrupt noble and the other two the sons of the most wanted people at different times in history.

Portgas D. Ace, the son of Gol D. Roger.

Outlook Sabo, the son of the noble Outlook III and rightful heir to the Goa Kingdom. Something about a kid named Stelly or Shelly was in there as well.

Monkey D. Luffy, the son of Monkey D. Dragon the most wanted man in the world and leader or the Revolutionary Army.

There would be an incident with some of Bluejam's crew and that would be the catalyst to them becoming sworn brothers. Then a fire would happen, Sabo would be kidnapped back by his father and thought dead but actually not and just suffering from amnesia. Or was it kidnapping first and then fire? Either way, Sabo was going to get kidnapped and Grey Terminal was going to catch fire.

Ace leaves, creates the Spade Pirates and eats the Mera Mera no mi. Gets his ass kicked by Edward "Whitebeard" Newgate and becomes the second division commander after a period of time.

Luffy leaves, and somehow ends up in a barrel where he meets Coby, no Koby, no definitely Coby. Or was it Koby? Ah Hell, Pinky McPinkerton the wannabe marine that was now going to be his name.

Meets with the Mask of Zorro, joins up with Nazi-

Is it offensive to all someone a Nazi if that group of people never existed in certain worlds like this one?

Wren stuck the tip of her left thumb in her mouth and bit it lightly as she thought, looking over her notes thankful that no one in this world seemed to understand Italian. Chalk one up for the immigrant maternal grandparents in her first life - in the Before - that enforced their grandkids to learn their first language.

She hummed, crossing out her previous thought, better to play it safe so Traity McTraitorson worked for now.

Something with Buggy the Clown, a dog, and then traveling to a new island where they meet Usopp and Kaya and Luffy defeats that guy who pushes up his glasses with the heel of his hand. Weird way to do that but she could have sworn it had something to do with how he got his nickname or something of the like. Also a hypnotist was there for some reason.

Then there was Vinsmoke Sanji - for now still just Sanji - and Traity McTraitorson betraying them before heading off to see the Freaky Fish Guy - Arlong but she liked the name she gave him instead. Shit happens there and then they were off to find Chopper - Emergency Food Supply - because Nami had gotten sick somehow.

Wait? Did Chopper happen before or after Loguetown? And wasn't there something about a group of bounty hunters or mercenaries and a princess with a duck? Ah, didn't really matter in the long run. Either way Luffy was going to destroy Roger's execution platform and nearly be captured by Smoker but was going to be saved by his father.

After Chopper came Alabasta because Vivi - the princess with the duck - wanted the Straw Hat's help defeating Crocodile which lead to meeting Ace and learning that he was hunting someone down because a monster had killed-

Wren stopped again, nearly snapping her pencil in two.

Ace was in Alabasta hunting down Marshall D. Teach - aka Blackbeard - because he had killed Thatch the fourth division commander and Ace's friend just for finding the Yami Yami no Mi devil fruit. Leading to the eventual fight between the two.

Ace's capture.

The War of the Best.

The death of two good men.

She had to shake her head, had to force those thought away to try and focus on Luffy's story.

Recruiting Robin and stopping the bomb that Crocodile placed in a clock tower. Getting Franky and the Sunny in one stop and losing both the Merry and Robin, the former completely and the latter for only a short amount of time because of something with the glyphs that are needed to reach the end of the Grand Line. Finding Brooke and his shadow in that triangle place with the guy who stole shadows, was that right?.

Going to Sabaody.

Fighting Kuma.

Amazon Lily.

Impel Down.

Marineford.

Everything led up to that moment, that fucking moment where a man was condemned for something he couldn't control, something that dogged him his entire life dragging down his self worth.

She wanted to scream, to rip out her hair and cry, tell someone, anyone that Ace was the son of Gol D. Roger and needed to be shown he was worth more than he thought, that people loved him and didn't care whose blood he carried in his veins. Show him that there were people in this world that would miss him if he died and would give their own lives so that he could live.

She sighed, releasing her death grip on the pencil.

Everything boiled down to the War of the Best. Though Luffy had many allies helping him along the way, none of them held the same conviction he did in getting his brother out. He couldn't do it alone but even surrounded by people fighting with him he was alone.

Except, she was here.

She was here and she knew the bare bones of the main story - mostly the order in which people joined the crew and a few of the adventures they had gone on prior to the war and only a few tidbits of information after the timeskip like the Corazon-Law thing and Sanji's family being the Vinsmokes (something about the Big Mom Pirates were associated with that but she never got that far but she remembered rumours about a guy able to see the future) - but she still knew enough that she could make an impact.

She could show Ace that there were people in the world besides just Luffy and Whitebeard who loved him for just being himself.

She could help Luffy get stronger, enough so that he wouldn't be as exhausted as he reached the execution platform to stop those swords from coming down.

She could even try to find a way to make sure that the Yami Yami no Mi stayed hidden, out of sight of people - of the person - who had been looking for it for years.

She may only be six years old now and far away from making any dent in any part of the story but she knows that she could stop the war before it even got started. And she would gladly give her own life in exchange for the lives of everyone who lost their in the war because she didn't matter in the grand scheme of things.

* * *

A/N:

And that makes chapter 2. Thank you to all who have followed, read, and reviewed this story and to all those who are the silent readers.

I did make a tumblr for this story just to post some sneak peaks and links to the chapters. Just look up vintage-typewriter or Foley Wren if you can't find me on there.

Don't forget to review if you can, anytime someone leaves a comment it just makes my day.


	3. The Woods (Hollow Coves)

She couldn't remember ever really having needed for her mom or dad in her first life - the Before - to give her The Talk, it had always seemed like something she knew from a young age. And even trying to look back at some of her faint memories, it always seemed like whenever someone tried to teach her about The Birds and The Bees it was always stuff she already knew.

Though, from what she could remember being taught, it was never quite as...colourful, sure she could use that word, as what her mama was telling her now.

A man had a penis, a woman had a vagina. She already knew that. When she got old enough and saw blood on her underwear that was normal she was just menstruating. Again, she already knew that. Never judge someone on their sexual orientation, you never know who you need to know in the world and it's best not to alienate them from you because of something they can't control. She never planned on doing that in the first place. And if you ever become sexual active then there was birth control available so she could lower her chances of getting pregnant- "No daughter of mine is becoming a teenage mother." -and it helped with lessen cramps. That was something she didn't know existed in this world, at least she now had a form of medication if her cycle was as bad as it was in her first life - in the Before, she needed to get use to referring to her last life as the Before it just made things easier.

Her mama continued on, informing her about all the different diseases that can be transferred from person to person - "What happens on the Grand Line stays on the Grand Line. Except for herpes, that shit comes back." So the Grand Line was this world's version of Vegas, good to know - and different ways to prevent the transfer of those diseases - "I don't care if he says it feels better not wearing one, you make any man you sleep with wear a condom." At least condoms were a thing in this world.

Maybe she should have been more disturbed when her mama continued on, telling her it was okay to be proud of her body and flash a little skin here and there - "Men will do almost anything for a woman if he sees even just a little cleavage" - and perhaps that was just a remnant of her past life sneaking through - some of Charlotte who had never been confident enough to wear lower cut clothing or shorts that didn't end at the knee - but from what she could remember about this world, as long as you were comfortable with what you wore, no one really cared.

That was actually quite refreshing. From what she could remember of her first life people would always judge you - sometimes even out right say it to your face - by what you wore whereas no one in this world seemed to care what anyone wore. Hell, her mother could wear her short shorts and cut off top and no one even blinked an eye that she was a mother wearing this. In this world, when she got older, she could explore a few clothing choices that no one ever let her explore in her last life.

She just wouldn't tell her papa - Shanks - lest the man freak out about her future clothing choices and hide her away on some desert island.

"Okay Birdie, any questions?" Shit, she had zoned out during her mama's speech. What was the last thing she had mentioned, was it herpes or something else? She needed to play off that she hadn't been paying attention fast.

"Does papa know you're teaching me this?" She cocked her head to the side, furrowing her brows slightly.

"Your papa doesn't need to know everything you or I do." That was probably a smart way to go about her life as well. Her papa _definitely_ did not need to know about her plan to stop a future war no matter the cost. "Anything else?" Her mama tapped her on her nose causing her eyes to go cross as she tried to follow the older woman's finger.

"Why'd we push all the furniture back?" That was still something her mother had yet to answer. Before her mama had gotten started on the sex ed lecture, she had roped Wren into helping her push all the furniture back against the wall giving them a good twenty square feet of room before plopping the two of them cross legged on the floor.

Her mama stood up, using one hand coated in Armament - something her mama willingly showed off in the house since she started training with Wren - to lift her up by the back of her shirt. "Well Birdie, since we've been practicing some basic hand to hand I figure it's time we start working on harder moves." Her mama set her back down on her own two feet, hands going to her hips. "So now is as good a time as any to teach you how to dance."

Her face must have showed her disbelief and caused her mama to scowl and flick her forehead.

"Don't give me that look." Her mama gently grabbed her wrists in her hands, pulling her into the center of the cleared space. "It's not sexist, it's just fact, we will never be as strong as men but we can outlast them with endurance." She stepped away, leaning over the sewing machine in the corner of the room where a sound shell was sitting and lightly pressed in the top in activating the shell and filling the room with breathy harmonious music. "And the best way to do that is to dance." Wren let out a squeal of joy when her mama grabbed one of her hands, spinning her around in a tight circle.

Right foot forward. Right foot back. Left foot forward. Left foot back. Right foot to the side. Right foot back. Left foot to the side. Left foot back. Rock the hips some and stay light on the balls of the feet. Rinse and repeat.

"Good job Birdie. Once you get this mastered, we can start throwing in some more complex moves. Always remember, fighting is like dancing." Her mama spun her around with one hand before leading her to add a few more steps in the simple routine.

Though the fact her muscles weren't as defined as when she was in her twenties the first time around was quite annoying to Wren as she soon found herself tiring quickly after only a few minutes of doing the same repeated movements. Dancing and learning how to both throw and manipulate daggers were quite different. "Does papa know how to dance?" She huffed out, trying not to try over her own two feet as she tried to grapevine to the left. Oh, the things she could do to his image if she ever needed to blackmail him.

Her mama hummed shaking her head with a small smile. "No, your dad has two left feet when doing anything but fighting with Mihawk but I bet if you asked when he visits this year he would gladly attempt to not look like a drunken monkey more than usual." A faster tempo started up. "Now, same movements just a bit faster. And five, six, seven, eight."

The rest of her seventh year followed the same routine; target practice with both stationary and moving targets in the form of birds on a nearby pond, steadily increasing the difficulty of dance moves with her mama and later on in the year incorporating wooden dowels to represent daggers as they mock fought using some of the dance moves, practicing both Armament and Observation Haki, and waiting for Shanks to return with news of the world and to further increase her ability with Haki.

That was the first time in her memory that her papa never showed up to visit in her seven years in this world. And perhaps that was a good thing as it meant he never had to cross paths with the marine admiral that decided to appear on the island.

* * *

"Little Wren is growing up to be quite the looker." Tifa pulled her eyes away for a second in the direction of the town mayor that had pulled up a chair beside her where she was working on altering a dress for a new bride. Why the bride chose to have her show up at the most popular bar in town during working hours was beyond what she was willing to care about. Wasn't the first time in the building's history that a bride had stood on a chair/bar stool/or table while she altered clothing. "Going to grow up looking like a copy of her mother."

"She may look like me - spin around darlin - but you can see her father's personality come out at the most random of times." She mumbled out around a mouth full of pins. "I swear that red hair just means the child is going to be trouble. You said you wanted it taken up in the front right?" She shot her eyes up to the dark haired bride standing on the stool who just nodded at her.

"You hear about what she did to the Withem boy-"

She stopped pinning the front of the dress up, shooting a deadpan glare at the taller spectacled man whose once raven locks that were slowly turning grey at the roots. "I'm still hearing from that cow of a woman about how much of a demon child my little girl is. Don't know what set Wren off but if the boy is anything like the mother then she should have hit him harder." She grumbled the rest under her mouth, earning a chuckle from the older man beside her.

"Yeah, sure. _Nothing_ like her mother." He mumbled around the rim of his mug, taking a long sip of the coffee flavoured rum. It might have been only noon on the island but it was five o'clock somewhere. "I definitely don't remember a pink haired girl punching out a pirate captain because he put his hand on her back. Nope, that didn't happen _at all_."

"Oi," Tifa shot him both a small smirk and a pointed finger, "you watch your mouth. I've got pins and I'm not afraid to take out one of your eyes with them." She stepped back, helping the would be bride down off the table that she could walk around with the temporarily altered dress, watching as the bride walked around the near empty bar, holding back a cringe every time the younger woman - she didn't look any older than what Tifa herself had been when she had Wren - stumbled in the heels clearly not used to walking in them.

She sat back, putting her elbows on the table behind her as she slumped in her seat, swirling the last quarter of her drink in the bottom of her glass lazily, glancing around the bar, focusing on the picture of herself holding a young - she must have been only a few months old at the time - Wren in her arms as Mayor Berkeley stuck a hat napkin on her head covering her red hair. "She's growing like a bad weed." Tifa hummed, bringing her glass up to her lips but not taking a sip, "Soon she'll be begging her dad to take her with him and the next time I'll see her she'll have a bounty on her head." She tilted the cup, finally taking a sip, catching the door to the bar flying open as one of the grocer boys ran into the bar, completely out of breath.

"Mayor Berkeley. Marines. Docking. Akainu. Looking. Red-Hair." The boy said breathlessly, panting in between each word and Tifa felt as if someone had just poured a bucket of freezing water over her and was surprised she didn't drop her glass once the information registered in her head.

Akainu. The Red Dog. The man who was 'famous' for his belief in Absolute Justice and how he hunted down so many women and children that _could_ have been associated with Roger. And the fact he was looking for Red-Hair - looking for Shanks - could only spell disaster for both herself, everyone in town, and most importantly Wren.

And if he found Wren.

"Tifa, you need to leave." Mayor Berkeley hissed, growing pale as it was clear he had just come to the same conclusion as her. He might not have been her biological father, but he viewed both Foley's as his family and therefore thought of Wren as his granddaughter something he had told Tifa right to her face only moments after Wren had been born. "You need to leave and get to Wren, now."

"I _can't_." She hissed back, tightening her once loose grip on the glass in her hand and it was true she couldn't leave the bar without gaining the attention of Akainu. Sure she was decent enough at Observation Haki and could race back home in record time and warning but this was one the top the ranking members of the marines and she would put money on the fact he had been using his own Observation Haki to try and sense everyone in town and would grow quite suspicious if someone suddenly tried to hide themselves. "If I leave, he _will_ follow."

At least if Akainu was heading into town that meant he probably wouldn't need to check the houses on the outer rim, assuming that he could get the information he needed from a majority of the population. And it would be quite unfortunate for him because almost the whole town loved it when the Red-Haired Pirates showed up as any other rookie crew that was here at the same time always left in a hurry. Not to mention they were always good for business.

And sure, the odd person here and there in town had a small issue with the crew but hopefully they would be smart enough to realise that if they blabbed to Akainu about Wren and herself, that they could also go in for having hid the information from the marines for eight years.

The would be bride scurried off to the woman's washroom to change out of her dress once checking in with Tifa and that was probably for the best as it save her from embarrassing herself by falling on her face as Akainu, in his red suited glory and harshly lined face, pushing open the door to the deathly silent bar, eyes flitting from each of the eight people in the bar including herself, the only sounds coming from the clacking of Akainu's boots as he crossed the threshold.

"I'm looking for the mayor of this town." His voice rang out with a deeply with the slight hint of condensing in the tone. "I was told I could find him here." It was obvious he already knew who the mayor was as he spoke while staring directly at Mayor Berkeley, the man in question without missing a beat placed his own glass down with steady hands.

"I am Mayor Berkeley." He steepled his hands in front of him, eyes locking with Akainu and Tifa would have applauded him if the situation was not so tense. "What can I do for the marines?" He looked up, obviously ignoring the the intimidation game Akainu was trying to play as he came to stand over Mayor Berkeley, green eyes clashing with near black.

"Red Hair." He lit a large cigar, purposely blowing the smoke in both Mayor Berkeley and her faces. "It's known that he frequents this island and it's my job to know why and put a stop to it." His gaze got harder, colder, as he spoke. "It is a crime punishable by death to withhold any information about wanted pirates from the marines."

To his credit, Mayor Berkeley never flinched, "I probably do not know much more than the marines. Red Hair shows up here every now and then, stocks up on supplies and leaves not long after." He took a sip of his drink, finishing it if the empty clank of it against the table was anything to go off of. "Our island is known for having some of the best sake, and he _is_ known as the Wandering Pirate and for the parties he is said to have every night."

That seemed to strike a nerve in the Admiral as a vein visibly popped on his neck as he clenched his jaw in anger at the mayor's words and Tifa tried her best to stifle her snort in her glass, bravely meeting Akainu's eyes with her own as the man heard her reaction, getting some satisfaction from the way the man's eyes widen slightly when meeting her own green ones.

Some days she would kill for a " _normal_ " looking set of eyes but today was not one of them.

"How about yourself?" His question was targeting her that much was obvious as his eyes narrowed. "Have you ever encountered the pirate captain?" He angled his body to stand over top of hers, not knowing that she had faced down men the same size as him without blinking. In hindsight, she was lucky to still be alive as she wasn't a big lady to start with but that was neither here nor there.

"Yes." She hummed with a shrug. "I have lived on this island all my life and have encountered him many times." It was the truth with many details left out but Akainu didn't need to know the nature of her and Shanks' encounters. "It _is_ a small town." Tifa deadpanned out raising an eyebrow as if to state 'are you blind or just stupid?' and luckily she was saved from having to deal with the Admiral any more when a quite nervous bride to be shot her concerned looks, awkwardly holding her dress in her arms. "Now, I have a customer to deal with." She didn't even offer him a parting courtesy, just strode past him with her head held high as she headed in the direction of the younger woman and gathered the dress in her own arms.

This gave her a good excuse to rush - walk so no one would look at her with suspicion - home and dig out her white transponder snail from where ever she had stored it away when Shanks himself had given it to her years ago.

If the Admiral was here today asking questions, then Shanks should have been told yesterday and as much as it pained her to admit it; Wren needed to get off the island and he would know the best place to take her.

* * *

Shanks knows he is both channeling his late captain and pushing his luck being docked at Dawn island in the East Blue, the birth sea of the last Pirate King and the island Garp the Fist has claimed as his own home and he is mostly doing it so that he can imagine the look on the Vice-Admiral's face when word finally reaches him that the newest rookie was brazen enough not only to dock at his home island and town but also stay there for over half a year now.

And if he gets to influence Garp's grandson - one Monkey D. Luffy (and even if he hadn't said he was a D Shanks would have been able to tell by that smile that screamed 'I'm a D, look at me') - into becoming a pirate and pissing the man off, well that's just a bonus.

Though the kid was kinda...cute, in his own way and maybe that was his inner fatherly instincts coming up from not seeing his own Wren in almost a year. Though it pained him to be away from his girl, he knew deep down it was for the best as they had started hearing rumblings of the marines getting suspicious as to why he always seemed to appear at Volca around the same time each year (except for that one time when he got there very late in the year) he decided that maybe a year away - even if it meant missing his daughter's seventh birthday - was for the best.

But, just because he thought the kid was cute in his own way, didn't mean that he didn't want to strangle the hyper boy. Honestly, from what Tifa had told him Wren was never acted like Luffy once in her life. She never tried to steal a necklace off a person's neck like Luffy was trying.

"You can't just grab at other people's belongings, Luffy." Makino does not get enough credit or praise in the world, in Shanks' opinion, for having to deal with not only her regular customers but also his crew and Luffy.

"But I wanna see it." Luffy whines, lips pouting and large brown eyes wide as Shanks holds the small locket in his hand, slowly turning it in a familiar motion he has taken to doing whenever he starts to think about his daughter. "Why can't I see it?" He thumps his head down so his chin hits the counter top and Shanks can't help but chuckle, lifting his own drink to his lips before giving in, slightly.

"Here Luffy." Shanks popped opened his locket, smiling fondly at the picture of himself and a baby Wren on his chest, and angled it so the boy only a few years younger than Wren could see inside. "Pay attention, because this the one of the two most treasured items I possess." The first going without saying was the straw hat Roger had given him all those years ago and he still wore to this day.

"What is it?" He perked up, tilting his head to the side with a quizzical look on his face, crossing his arms as well.

"It's a picture of my little girl, Wren." He can see out of the corner of his eyes Makino jumping slightly at the knowledge that he has a daughter, something he has not mentioned in the near ten months he had been on the island and hadn't planned on it until Luffy drew attention to the locket around his neck. As much as he would love to go around a brag (mostly to Whitebeard because the man always wanted a family and here he was with a blood related daughter) about his kid he knew that any mention of her to the wrong person would spell her death.

Oh, but the moment his little girl set out on her own (he had seen the looks out to the sea when she thought he wasn't watching) and started wreaking havoc on the marines, he would be boasting about everything she did - and the first person he would to go would be Whitebeard just to brag. He was pretty sure the only other person outside his crew and the people on the island who knew about Wren was Mihawk as he wasn't sure but he might have mentioned something about a red haired child of his out there in the world without naming names. And Benn could try to stop him if he wanted but he already had plans to clear wall space to frame each and every bounty poster she would get.

"Why is she so small?"

Makino sighs, pulling both Luffy up into her arms and into a higher seat to give him some food and pulling Shanks' attention to the stunning green haired woman. Though Tifa will always hold a special place in his heart - they both agreed to remain just friends and both encouraged the other to find someone to complete them - Makino has been growing on him and this time he can see himself starting to fall for the motherly woman now it was just the matter of getting her to see past his exterior as a pirate and maybe learning about Wren was that first step.

"That's because it's just a picture, Luffy." She put a plate down in front of the boy, earning a large beaning 'D' shaped smile from the raven haired kid before he started digging into it. "Much like what I have hanging up in the hallways upstairs of you." It was obvious her words fell on deaf ears as Luffy never looked up from his plate or even make any sort of movement to acknowledge he heard her earning a sigh and fond look from the woman before she turned her eyes on Shanks, or to be more exact the picture locket. "How old is she?" Her voice is soft as well as her eyes and Shanks can't help the pride that wells up inside him.

"About eight." He angles himself better bringing himself closer to the barmaid. "Looks like an exact copy of her mother now. Only thing she got from me was the hair." Makino gently grabbed the locket from his hand causing him to have to lean further over the counter since it was still locked around his neck.

"Do you see her often?" He couldn't help but smile at the slight blush the appeared on Makino's cheeks when she finally noticed just how close he had gotten to her, not that he was complaining as it really brought out her ruby eyes, and how to top of his shirt was still unbuttoned giving her a good look down it and at his chest.

He tucked the locket back under his shirt when she handed it back to him, "As much as I can. This is the longest I've been away but the marines were starting to sniff around so I figured we'd sail to the East Blue and draw their attention away from where she is."

"Hey," Luffy's voice piped back up finally clueing back into the conversation at the mention of the marines, "you've got to take me on your next adventure Shanks. I wanna be a pirate, just like you."

Shanks laughed, both at Luffy's spunk at not stopping to try and convince him to take the younger boy out to sea and the fact that Garp's grandson was convinced he wanted to be a pirate and wouldn't that just aggravate the old marine dog.

For sure, Luffy is an annoying brat at times but he grows on you giving enough time. He's kinda a goof - still shocks him to think that they kid stab himself under his eye when they first docked - and is starstruck by him and the stories he would tell about being on the Oro Jackson with Roger but he gives Shanks those big round brown eyes and all he can see is a little girl with red hair and seafoam green eyes looking up at him like he hung the moon and stars.

"Right, as if you could ever be a pirate." He teased with a smile and Shanks could see staying here a bit longer even if his heart clenched at the thought of not seeing his girls sooner but at least he's got another kid to look after in the meantime.

* * *

He doesn't expect the call though.

Sure, a month or two before this moment, or had it been more? The days blurred together, the mountain bandits who poured sake on him and basically mocked him and his crew with their pitiful eight million beri bounty had been a bit of a damper, and yeah sure he had lost a bit of cash he could have gotten by selling the Gomu Gomu no Mi when Luffy ate it but it would be nothing to attack a marine base or an enemy pirate ship to get it back.

But that was long ago and he had stopped getting annoyed over those events after an hour or so.

Already his day had turned out quite different than what he thought it was going to go when he woke up in the morning.

Like usual, he had woken up with a killer hangover, swearing that he would never touch another bottle of alcohol ever again, and slowly sobered up thanks greatly in part to Benn being the only one sober enough to start a pot (see over a dozen) of coffee in preparation for the slow moving hoard that was hung over pirates who could smell the roasted beans.

A few hours later, and a few coffee pots just for himself, and he was ready to head back to Party's Bar for a drink and good conversation. It may have taken a month but he had slowly been growing closer to Makino, and she obviously had been growing closer to him as well, and he could see himself asking her to wait for him.

What he hadn't expected was an all but ghost town in place of the just yesterday bustling town. And a quick investigation in Party's Bar showed the once not immaculate (that was Tifa's house) but not run down building that looked like either a bull had run through or Luffy had attempted to use his new devil fruit powers.

The lack or animal signs and lack of Makino looking after Luffy disproved both of those ideas so that left Shanks with the idea that something else, something worse, had happened in the last twelve hours or so since he left the bar.

A quick look with Observation Haki showed him where he could find everyone.

And that was where he could argue that his day took the turn for the worse.

The mountain bandits with their laughable eight million beri bounty were back and threatening Luffy, something he couldn't stand for both as a pirate and as a father. It was a no brainer that they would teach those fools a lesson, not even having to break a sweat in doing so because they _clearly_ had no idea just who they were pissing off. He did freak out though, he will admit that, when the leader of the mountain bandits had escaped with Luffy, throwing the boy into the sea and almost killing him.

Giving up one of his arms in exchange for Luffy's life seemed like a fair trade.

It was during the time when Roo was wrapping up what was left his arm and he was trying to convince Makino that yes, he was fine, no he wasn't going to die anytime soon, and no it was not her fault he was now missing an arm, that Benn had walked up with both an ashen looking face and the transponder snail with Tifa's seafoam green eyes that he knew something was wrong.

He just hadn't expected the news that call brought with it.

Leaving his hat with Luffy, and a promise to see the boy again, he boarded the Red Force with the rest of his crew, all of them knowing where their next stop was to be as his daughter was in possible danger and he needed to be with her yesterday.

* * *

A/N:

Well, not gonna lie here, I never expected to actually get three chapters of this story done and posted on this site.

Meant to have this out earlier today but you know...life kinda happened.

As always, make sure the rate, review, or what ever it is that people do on this site because your comments help me gain inspiration to continue writing Wren's story.


	4. Mountains (Message to Bears)

The next time Wren see her papa she is almost nine and he is missing both his iconic straw hat and one of his arms.

She doesn't really know how to feel at the sight of her now one armed papa. Mostly, she is shocked because he looks so different from when she last saw him but she is also scared because both the missing straw hat and arm tells her that he has met Luffy and it means that time is moving faster than what she was mentally prepared for.

So all she can do is cry as she hold tight on to her papa and try not to compare his looser hug with one arm to the tighter hugs he used to give her when he had both of his arms.

* * *

The house is quiet, something that hasn't occurred in eight nearly nine years.

They had sent Wren out of the house, making her promise to stay close to the house the boundaries being the edge of the trees that surround the house and under no circumstances was she to step one foot past those lines. And under no circumstances was she to suppress her aura.

He couldn't for sure say but deep in his gut the look his daughter gave him told him that she had a good idea just what they were going to discuss even if Tifa had sworn that she had not uttered a word of what had happened with Akainu all those months ago or the phone call between the two of them.

The clinking of glass against wood drew his eyes up from where he had been staring at the table to look at Tifa, hair half out of the ponytail she had put it in when they had first started talking about options and eyes weary and obviously weighed down with the stress of the situation, as she ran her hand back through her hair letting loose more strands as she let out a sigh. "What are our options?"

He feels like he's aged ten years just stepping foot in the house, "If it had been Garp I wouldn't worry as much." As much as the man was a marine through and through he was also honorable enough for his late captain to hold the old marine dog in high regards so he was willing to do the same. "Just give it a few months and a couple of visits here and there and they would eventually stop. But it's-"

"It's Akainu." Tifa finished for him, trailing off with a quiet voice. "And we both know he won't let this go. He's probably already heard you're back here and is trying to get the clearance to investigate why." Her grip tightened on the glass to the point where her already pale skin turned even whiter. "I _know_ he suspects I know you. And it would be nothing for him to locate me at home and see Wren before I could hide her away somewhere." A crack appeared on the glass, "He'll see her and he won't see a little girl not even nine, he'll just see the blood of a pirate." Her voice wavered as her head bowed so the pink strands of her hair covered her face but Shanks knew from the few drops that appeared on the table that she was crying. "He won't see my little girl, he'll-"

"He'll just see me." He pulled out the one other seat at the table, slumping down into it and taking both of Tifa's small hands into his, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles to both try and sooth her and calm himself. He also knew a day like this would come, he just never thought it would be soon into Wren's young life that he would need to take her and hide her somewhere safe. Part of him had always hoped that this day would never come, or when it did it would be when she was older because he may play dumb but he was not stupid by any means and knew that Wren was reaching that point in her life when she was going to need her mother and he hated to have to take her away from Tifa before that time even came.

He could feel guilt well up in his gut. He should have better prepared both of them and himself for this day, should have at least attempted once in the last eight years to convince Tifa it was in Wren's best interest if she would leave with him to the New World, even if he didn't have many islands under his name - or really any at the beginning of Wren's life - he could have at least snuck the two of them into Whitebeard's territory with the old man being none the wiser.

"I'm sorry Tifa." He let her hands go, and ran his fingers through his own hair having to hold back a flinch when he didn't knock off his captain's straw hat momentarily forgetting he had left it with his favourite little anchor back on Dawn Island. "This is my fault."

"Shut up, Shanks." There was no real heat behind her words as one hand came up to wipe at her eyes as she lifted her head to look at him with red rimmed eyes. "It's my fault too. I should have better prepared for this day. Fuck." She left out a breath, "Just, fuck." She stood up, moving only a few feet to the sink and refilling her glass but turning back to face him instead choosing to look out the window at the clear sky.

Shanks couldn't help but agree. They were between a rock and a hard place now and once Akainu got word he had returned to Volca he would scour the entire island, not just stick to the towns this time, to try and find just what - who - made him come back here every year. He would need to leave within the next twenty four hours and Wren would need to come with him, but where could he hide her? She needed somewhere no one would expect to find her, where she could grow up and have a maternal figure around when needed.

There were no islands under his control that he could leave her at - he didn't really 'control' them anyways he just stored a large amount of alcohol on them and smart people knew not to touch those islands unless they were living on them. Any island under both Kaido and Big Mom's controls were thrown out the window and it was bad enough Whitebeard seemed to show up on the island once every year now - luckily after the first incident with Wren meeting that first mate of Newgate Tifa stopped letting her go into town by herself - and he would investigate any reason why he stopped at one of his islands.

He needed a place to hide her, like his little anchor.

No. Not like his anchor. Exactly like his anchor.

He could hide her right under the noses of the marines, right under Garp's nose.

Red hair wasn't uncommon, it wasn't common but it wasn't rare and he had met people with red hair before just not the same shade that he had and that plus the shape her eyes were taking plus the slightly tanned skin were about the only physical features of his that she had. And once people looked at her eyes, they seemed to ignore her hair - or so his crew had told him and it was the same as when he first met Tifa but only years of knowing her had allowed him to focus on other physical features besides her eyes.

It was risky, fuck was it risky, but it was probably the best option they had at this point because a pirate ship was no place to raise his daughter and there was no telling what the marines would do next now that they probably knew he was back at the island. No one would expect the daughter of Red-Haired Shanks to leave his daughter on Garp the Fist's home island in the weakest sea.

Makino would be on the island and could be the motherly figure she needed, and Wren he could entrust her to look after Luffy because he was willing to bet his other arm that the kid would need someone to look after him and who better than his own daughter.

Tifa would hate the idea though, but he knew she would know it the best option at this point.

He rubbed his face with his hand, "I know a place." He caught Tifa stiffening her back at his words from the corner of his eyes. "It's nowhere near the Grand Line or the New World. It's a small village, friendly people, no one really cared that we were there as long as we didn't destroy anything. There are some kids around her age so she won't be lonely. It's a good place for her. Safe." He nodded at the last bit for himself, to reassure himself that yes, this was the best option for Wren even if that meant he may never see her again before she took to the sea - if she took to the sea.

"What's her name?" He jerked his head around, not expecting Tifa to have both responded in that way or to have turned around, one hand crossing over her chest to grip the upper part of the other with a blank look on her face, only her eyes showing the sadness she was feeling. "I'm not stupid; you got the same look on your face that you used to give me when you thought I wasn't looking." She approached her abandoned chair, slowly slinking herself down into it and laying one of her hands on his cheek. "She must be beautiful." She shot him a small smile, not her iconic roguish one but a smile nonetheless.

He couldn't help the small chuckle, "Rivals you the first time I met you."

"I had a broken nose and a black eye." She snorted, her smile stretching just a bit wider as she dropped her hand, a serious look coming over her face. "What's the catch?" She crossed her arms over her chest, sea coloured eyes glowing in the slowly setting light. "There's always a catch so what is it?"

She was going to hate it, probably want to strangle him but definitely hate the idea. "It's ah; it's the home island of Garp-"

Her hands slammed down on the table, knocking over both of their glasses and the salt and pepper shakers, "You want me to send Wren where! Are you fucking brain damaged!" The chair toppled over as she shot up, "You want to send Wren to the home island of a fucking Vice-Admiral! That's just as bad as leaving her here!"

"I'll go."

The only sound in the room was Tifa's glass rolling off the table and shattering as it hit the ground as Wren pushed herself off the archway into the kitchen, coming up to stand between both himself and Tifa, stepping carefully over the glass shards.

"How much did you hear?" Tifa's face was pale, as she hesitantly stepped towards Wren, crouching down to her level and carefully brushing away some of the glass so she didn't cut her bare knees.

Wren just shrugged, shifting her weight from foot to foot, "Enough." She shot him a quick look from the corner of her eyes that he was just able to catch. "I'm not stupid, I know how dangerous it is for me if the marines come back and if papa says he knows a safe place then I'm willing to go there." Her small hand reached out to take a fistful of his overcoat, "I trust him. So should you."

Tifa took in an audible sharp breath and Shanks could feel his own catch in his throat, and she slowly pulled Wren closer to her, tucking her tightly under her chin as he could see tears start down her high cheek bones once again and could see in her eyes that as much as it pained her she was willing to let Wren leave with him. "I don't want to lose you, Wren." Tifa's voice was shaking, and as much as he wanted to crouch down to their level and draw them into his own hug he knew that this was something the two of them needed.

"You're not mama; you're giving me the best chance." Wren's voice was also shaking; now that her face was hidden he knew she was letting her true emotions out. No little girl ever wants to be separated from their mother. "And that's what parents are supposed to do; give their kids the best chance."

If he didn't know better, Shanks would have thought that Wren was speaking from experience but that couldn't be she had to have just heard that during a trip into town and must have stuck with her.

"Shanks." Tifa's voice was hard as well as her eyes as she clutched Wren closer to her as much as she could as their daughter still had yet to let go of his overcoat. "Can you do me a solid and promise me that she will be safe, that nothing bad will happen to her on that island."

He couldn't promise that. He knew she knew that he couldn't promise that but he also knew she needed to hear from the horse's mouth, from his own mouth, that she would be safe.

"She'll be safer than if she stayed here." And that was all he could really promise because who knows what Garp would do if he ever made the connection between Wren and himself.

* * *

They leave the house only a few short hours later when the sun has just set and there are only a few stars in the deep purple sky.

For all that she owns in her small room at the back of the house, she has packed everything she thinks she will need to at least last her until she gets to Dawn Island in two bags; both filled to the brim with clothes (multiple shirts, a few pants and shorts, and various pairs of both underwear and socks) and barely able to hold her notebook, the one with all her notes from the Before and what she knew of this world, and the daggers - four of them with the idea that two were for now and two were for when she got. Older - that her mama gifted to her before she stepped out of the house, and a single picture of her mother holding her when she was only a few months old and had a napkin hat on her head.

She takes no toys, no blankets that kept her warm during the winter seasons, and none of the books that line her shelf back in her room - her old room. The less she takes the better because maybe this was when the original Wren dies, maybe she survived to be eight almost nine but on this trip to Dawn Island didn't make it so they less he takes the better; it leaves less for her papa to mourn over if - when - she doesn't survive the trip.

The heaviest thing she carries is her mama's last words to her; "You may carry your father's blood but the sins of the parent should never be the sins of the child." It was a saying that she had heard even in the Before and it...bothers her that those words now pertain to her and not the strangers around her.

Maybe, maybe if she's lucky and makes the trip to Dawn Island, and somehow finds Ace up in the forest she can drill that into his thick head so maybe, just maybe when - if - the war does happen he won't be as helpless. He will fight to survive because blood doesn't define who you are, your actions do.

She wants to look back, to run back, with every step she takes - one hand in her papa's - away from her home from what is familiar but she knows she can't because once she looks back her resolve will crumble and the tears she is holding back will start up and she won't cry, she _can't_ cry because tears are for the weak and she is _not_ weak, she is the daughter of Red-Haired Shanks one of the four Emperors of the sea, or at least one of the future Emperors, and one of the most feared men by the marines.

"-do you want to stay in it tonight?" The sound of her papa's voice shocks her out of her thoughts as the Red Force looms in the bay, the only ship there and slightly lit with numerous shadowed figures moving on board. "Wren? Do you want to stay with me tonight?" It clicks in her mind that her papa is asking if she wants to stay by herself or with him and as much as she knows she is going to want something familiar, in this case him, she also knows that she wants to be by herself for her inevitable breakdown.

"No." She has to hold back the flinch at how quiet her voice is and knows that her papa has caught just how small she feels. Sure, she had worn a brave face back at the house but that was then and this was now. "I'd like to stay by myself." She wouldn't but she knows she must because she is leaving behind her mother and soon her papa will leave her behind so it's better to get used to not having to rely on him for comfort.

He stops, and crouches down in front of her and she wishes he didn't because at least when they were walking in the direction of the Red Force her mind could focus on that and not on turning tail and running home. "It's okay to be scared about leaving, Wren."

"I'm not scared." She mumbled, not looking up at his face because it was obvious just how much she did not want to leave. She would need to relearn (re-teach?) herself how to hide her emotions better. "Just never been on a boat before." Which is partially true, Wren had never been on a boat - ship her dad would argue back in the Before - but Charlotte had worked on a few the last few years of her life.

"Ship, Songbird." Her papa ruffled her hair out of the single large braid her mama had put it in before they left her behind earning a look of displeasure from Wren as her brows furrowed, eyes narrowed, and lips pouted. "It's a ship, not a boat." He stood back up, grabbing her hand yet again and Wren was happy he was dropping the subject about leaving the island as walking now gave her something else to focus on, mainly not tripping on falling on her face as she stumbled over larger sized rocks.

She can't help but compare the sounds her of papa's foot steps to hers, heavy and slow against light and quick just like her mama - "Dancer's feet," her mama had told her, "Light and quick." - as they walk the gangplank to the top deck of the Red Force and she realizes that there is no turning back now, especially once they reach the top deck and her father is already barking out orders - "Raise the gangplank! Hoist the sails! Weigh anchor! Benn, you're in charge. I'll be in my quarters."

Wren half wants to stay on the deck to watch what the crew does, she can compare it to a dance the way everyone moves in sync with each other, but the other half of her still wants to hide away from the eyes, and there are many eyes, watching her waiting for her to break down because that's what they expect her to do and she is thankful when her papa pulls her gently to follow after him into the depths of the ship.

Shanks started pointing out rooms to her; the galley, kitchen, crew barracks number one, bathroom number one, medical bay, crew barracks number two, bathroom number two, his quarters, and finally-

"Your room." He opens the door to what had to have once been a store room from how small it was and was directly across from his own quarters. Close enough that if anything happened he was right there but still just that far enough away that she was not in the same room or in a room attached to his giving her some privacy.

It's small, as she said, really just big enough for a rope hammock with a simple pillow and blanket, and a small dresser with two shelves barely even two feet long and already that took up just over half the room. What bothered her most was not the size, she was still small - was Charlotte this small when they were the same age? She had a blurry memory of staring at door frame with various lines that had to be doing nothing but listing heights - so a small room didn't bother her, but it was the distinct lack of a window of any size. In her room, her old room, there was a large window that faced the water behind her house and gave off lots of natural light, now the only light she had was from the four lamps hanging in each corner of the room.

Her papa dropped both her bag and her hand, not in that order but reversed, as he stood in the doorway to her room, rubbing the back of his neck with his now free hand. Was he nervous? Wren really couldn't tell and her Observation Haki that she had just starting getting trained enough to 'sense' emotions - her mama could only teach her so much as Observation Haki was not her affinity - was telling her nothing.

"I'll, ah, leave you to get settled." She barely got her head turned in his direction before he got to the door to his own cabin and closed it behind him leaving her alone, on a strange ship, in the middle of the night with only the sounds of the waves crashing against the sides of the Red Force and the muffled noises of the crew trying to get said ship under control so that they themselves could get some shut eye.

A bad wave hit the ship, tilting it back and forth causing Wren to stumble into a wall, bruising her shoulder from the impact and causing the door to sway close with an audible click.

* * *

The first week or so was...well...bad didn't really begin to cover it.

During the days, she put on a brave face and followed either her papa or Benn - because he was really the only responsible adult on the ship - around and tried to stay out of the way of most everyone else, really only stopping to talk with Roo, or Yasopp when they asked how she was settling in.

Nights were the worst for her right now, half the time she wanted to bawl her eyes out and the other half of the time her stomach wanted her to lose whatever was in her stomach and unfortunately her stomach usually was winning the battle and she was just lucky that so far she hadn't needed to make a run to any of the bathrooms in the middle of the night so she was saved that embarrassment.

The second week was only a little better at night. Her stomach had finally settled, as had most of her emotions but every now and then she would get a pang of homesickness and wish she was back with her mama but it would eventually pass leaving her awake for no reason well into the early hours of the morning with felt like only two hours of rest by the time her papa came knocking on the door to her room.

That, thankfully, seemed end by the third week and she finally stopped walking around in a daze - which was quite dangerous on a ship at sea now that she thought about it - and earning concerned looks from everyone she passed because the bags under her eyes had bags and she could finally appreciate being on the open ocean, being free.

"Hey, kiddo." Wren plopped herself down on the deck between Benn and Yasopp, with a book...liberated from her papa's room and now had tucked under her arm. "What do ya have there?" He asked as Wren cocked her head to the side and furrowed her brow at the cards laid out on the deck in front of her; one ace of hearts, a ten of clubs, and the four of clubs, and showed the brown leather bound encyclopedia of the world. "Isn't that a bit advanced for someone your age?" He threw in what looked like a thousand beri's.

Wren shrugged, Charlotte had read higher leveled textbooks in college in the Before, so a book this size was nothing, and propped open the book, half focusing on the information about the Florian Triangle (that sounded familiar and she could just barely remember something about Brooke being in a place that had the word triangle in it) and half focusing on the game of poker - it finally clicked in her head when Risk (tall guy, skinny, brown eyes, black hair, glasses on top of his head, had a thing for whips, quite forgettable and the only reason Wren knew his name was because Yasopp said it was his turn) folded - going on in front of her.

"Yeah, kid," Yasopp piped in after putting his tankard back on the deck and wiped away the foam on his lips, "wouldn't you rather read something like Noland the Liar?" He threw in his own raise of two thousand beri's when his turn came back around.

"Read it already." Wren stopped trying to read the book, on trying to focus on the game. There weren't many books for children back at her old house and the story of Noland the Liar had been one of the few there but there was only so many times a person could read a book before they got bored, and Wren couldn't help that feeling in the back of her head anytime she read the story that there was some truth to the tale and maybe she should check her notebook to see if she wrote something down about it. "What are you guys playing?" She picked up the book off her lap and moved it under her so she was sitting on it, giving her an extra three inches in height.

Yasopp and Benn shared a smile over her head; Benn's more dignified in a way she couldn't really describe as Yasopp's had a cunning look in his eyes. "Poker, kid. Wanna learn?" The sniper grinned bigger as Wren nodded, pulling her into his lap with a small squeak in surprise from her at the action. "Once you get the hang of this, we'll teach you how to hustle your dad and won't that be fun." The 'for us' went unspoken but Wren could still hear in it his voice as they were dealt their two cards from the deck and Yasopp went on to explain about rivers and how to judge if your hand was good or not based on said rivers.

* * *

"Wh-what the! Who taught you how to play poker!" Her papa's mouth resembled a fish with the amount of opening and closing it did as he fisted handfuls of his hair and paged at her, mostly at her smiling face as she pulled the pot full of money towards her.

Damn, Yasopp was right.

It was fun hustling her papa.

* * *

A/N:

Not gonna lie, this chapter almost didn't happen for a variety of reasons, most of that stemming from a serious reason in my personal life that killed any inspiration to write.

As always, please review as your comments help me improve my writing and I wish to give you guys the best story that I can.


	5. Go the Distance (Disney)

Her ninth birthday went by without notice and she was fine with that. Or, at least she assumed it had passed as the only calendar on the ship was not only on the wrong month but also two years old at that point and by the time she got it in her head to circle the days so she could track how long of a journey it took to get from Volca to Dawn Island it was already too late to start keeping track.

Even when she had been with her mama they hadn't gone out of their way to really celebrate her getting older it was mostly just her favourite breakfast food and a trip into town if she wanted to go (and that was usually a hit or miss thing as the only reason she would want to go into town was to see Mayor Berkeley, and he usually made the trip out to see them himself.)

She was never around kids her age, most thought she was weird and the other's parents kept their children away from her for fear of her breaking their children's noses (it happened once and apparently people had a hard time of letting go of the fact a four year old broke a seven year old's nose.)

So she couldn't fault her papa for not knowing what day her birthday was, according to her mama's stories he hadn't been around for her birth and showed up a few months later and kept showing up around those same months and neither of them had actually clarified for him the date of her birth - April first because of course her birth was a joke - and he never asked.

What she wanted most for her ninth birthday was not a material object but information. Particularly information on Conqueror's Haki because all that she knew about it was that it was rare, a one in a million people had it, that it was powerful and Gol D. Roger was probably the most infamous person to have it and was the reason people would call it the King's Will.

Maybe it was based on a person's parents like how in the Before with Charlotte a person's parents both had to have the gene for blue eyes for the child to have a chance to have blue eyes because blue eyes was the recessive gene so maybe Conqueror's Haki was a recessive gene and though her papa had it her mama might not have the gene at all so she was shit out of luck. She'd need a good sized control group of people whose parents did not have Conqueror's Haki so she could see if any developed the ability on their own and then compare them to people who had one parent with Conqueror's and another group with people whose parents both had Conqueror's-

And her head hurt just thinking about it scientifically.

But, there had to be an explanation besides 'Hey, you got lucky' that a person would have the ability to use Conqueror's Haki and she was open to both magic and divine intervention at this point so she didn't have have to quote a famous writer from the before when he said - or at least a character of his said - "Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth."

Science existed for a reason so it should be able to explain why some people had the ability and others didn't. Though science in this world couldn't explain how devil fruits came to be or how it was only the first person who ate the fruit got the power even if numerous people took a bite of the same fruit and-

-and she really needed to drop her train of thought and refocus on her task of trying to get information about Conqueror's Haki from her father because information was knowledge and knowledge was power.

And if they were going off that idea, she had a bit of a head start on most people.

So pushing open the door to her papa's cabin, the sight of him sitting at his desk looking over paperwork gave her pause because when people think of pirates the first things that pops into their head is usually not paperwork especially when it's her papa in question as he seemed like the last person on the ship to be filling out numbers and it seemed more like a Benn thing to do.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Wren awkwardly grabbed a stool situated beside her papa's bed - what it was therefore she had no idea - and placed it beside her papa's seat as she clamoured to sit on it so her head was even with the top of his shoulders, a slight grin on her face when her papa put his pencil in his mouth as he flipped through the papers, this was something she didn't knew he did and it amused her to no end. The youngest Emperor who could go toe to toe with Whitebeard had the habit of biting the ends of pencils.

"Papa," said man hummed, and didn't stop flipping through the paperwork as Wren looked over his shoulder trying to catch a glimpse at just what was writing on the papers but all she saw was chicken scratch writing, "why do you have Conqueror's Haki and I don't?" She resisted the urge to look at his face as his hand stilled from flipping papers and she could finally make out the words 'property damage repayment'.

"It's a one in a million chance, Songbird." She could see from the corner of her eyes as his body shifted in his seat to face her, a squeak leaving her lips as her own seat was turned so she faced him. "Some people discover they have it naturally, and some people need a reason to unlock it." A hand under her chin brought her face up so that her eyes met his, "Why do you want to know?"

She absentmindedly picked at the frayed ends of the strings on her pants where she had ripped a small hole the last time she wore the pair when she got caught on the nubbin in the doorway to her room, "I just heard that those who have it can change things."

"Bah," her papa's hand on her head ruffling her hair out of the braid she convinced Yasopp to put it in, "don't believe that old wives tale. Just because someone has Conqueror's Haki doesn't mean they can change things. Just look at your old man, I've got it and I don't want to change anything." He threw his head back with a booming laugh. "Besides, it's not all it's cracked up to be. Just focus on Armament and Observation for now and don't worry about the other." She couldn't hold back the scowl when her father picked her up by the back of her shirt and carried her out over his shoulders still laughing, "We've got a couple of months left in our journey so let's see if I can teach you how to coat a blade in Armament Haki."

It may not have brought her any closer to her answers but at the end of the day he was teaching her something she didn't know so at least that fulfilled a bit of what she wanted for her ninth birthday. And maybe she would never develop Conqueror's Haki but as of right now she still had her Armament and learning how to transfer it from her body to a blade could be quite useful in the future.

* * *

No one could give her a straight answer when she asked how much longer/how far away was their destination, the most she got was Roo telling her that they were close when she cornered him by helping to mop the deck but that didn't clarify anything and he only ruffled her hair - everyone on the ship seemed to have a habit of that and she was starting to get to the point that she hated when people touched her hair - saying she was adorable when she pouted.

With that being said, Wren finally decided to approach her papa about Dawn Island to try and discover just what she could expect to find on the island, hearing was quite different than seeing and experiencing.

So when her papa knocked on the door to her room and slowly pushed it open giving her enough time to quickly slide her notebook under her pillow and asked if she wanted to join him on deck to go fishing, Wren jumped at the chance to pick his brain, and learn how to fish because one could only guess how important a skill like that was to have in a world that was mostly water.

And fishing for well, fish, could be easily translatable to fishing for people; particularly devil fruit users who often forget they are devil fruit users.

Which, from her spotty memory, that tended to be Luffy when he started on his journey, but mostly stood out when Luffy finally met the Freaky Fish Guy at Traity McTraitorson's home town.

And if she just so happened to grab her notebook to stuff under her armpit with notes from the so called "history" book she had liberated, as stated before, from her papa's room so she could question her papa about the truths of the world that she only really had a bare grip on.

Sure, she knew that the government had killed Robin's family and friends on Ohara because they were able to read the poneglyphs that the government had tried their hardest to cover up. And yeah, she knew that the government turned a blind eye to slavery even if they claimed that they were against it, the fact that they guarded the Celestial Dragons as they went to human auction houses proved otherwise.

But, don't even get her started on the whole deal between the government and the Merpeople at Fishman Island.

Of course the government wasn't all bad - what was that saying in the Before? "Not all men." - well it could be used to apply to a select number of government officials and Marines, like Corazon when he went out of his way to save Law or Jaguar, or even Garp.

She was getting off track and had to shake her head clear but let out a squeak as her papa lifted her up by the back of her shirt and sat her down gently on the railing beside her, not even giving her a chance to get her bearings before she had he hands full of a fishing pole at least twice the size of her with only a pat on her head from her papa as he carefully pulled her notebook out from under her arm and sat on it himself, all while holding his own fishing pole between his legs.

It was quiet, or as quiet as it could get on a maned pirate ship in the middle of the ocean, between the two of them as they both sat on the railing.

Wren couldn't help but bite her lip as her eyes stared down at the fishing float bobbing up and down with the gentle current of the ocean, not really paying attention to all that was going on around her and definitely not catching the look the look her own papa shot her from his spot beside her but she did finally find the way out of her head and thoughts when her papa gave an audible sigh meant to catch her attention.

"Beri for your thoughts?" Her papa nudged her with his elbow but Wren couldn't bring herself to look up from the fishing float still bobbing on the water and proceed to bite her bottom lip just hard enough that she knew that there would be an indent of her teeth and could possibly either bruise or draw a small drop of blood.

How could she even begin to put her thoughts into words? How could she even begin to ask the man who saw Charlotte as Wren - as his daughter - whether or not he believed in reincarnation or if he believed in other worlds and if it was possible for him to believe that his daughter was a product of both. Or even, how was she to ask him if he knew that his captain had a son and he was so close to seeing the boy when he was on Dawn Island.

That wasn't even touching on the fact she wanted to ask just how deep the corruption ran in both the Marines and government, because as much as both parties would deny that there was any corruption Wren was not stupid and she wouldn't be surprised if the government started to promote the idea that ignorance was strength.

After all, if they kept the population blind and uneducated then they stayed in power and that power isn't something people are willing to give up easily once they have it, as history in the Before had shown time and time again.

Just how could an adult, least of all a child, supposed to even start a conversation like that.

So, she chose to promptly ignore all those thoughts and ideas and went with something simpler, something a child would ask and not an adult mind stuck in a child's body.

Swinging her legs slowly so they bumped up quietly against the railing, Wren turned her head slightly to ask her papa just what was Dawn island like as she had never really gotten a clear answer from anyone she asked, though she blamed this partly on the fact they wouldn't have focused on the aesthetic of the island and would have spent most of the time in a drunken stupor and unable to clearly remember much about the island. Really only Benn had been able to answer her and his answers were "dull, quiet, and a place people retire to" and even then it didn't really help her any.

"Well," her papa began crossing his legs to trip the fishing pole between them as he used his now free hand to rub at his chin where he had begun to form a beard, "it's a summer island with not much traffic from what I learned. We were probably the first visitors in years that didn't originally come from the island."

That didn't supply Wren with any useful information. She needed facts, cold and hard, about the layout of the island, the location of towns, how often Garp would show his face - though she knew from memory that he would later show up yearly and terrorize the boys and try to convince them to join the marines and give up any thoughts of being pirates - and who she needed to avoid at all cost.

"There's this nice town we stopped at last time, smaller than what you're used to probably but still a popular place. Foosha Village I believe it's called." He shot her a small smile knocking his shoulders against her slightly not noticing just how pursed her lips were as she ignored the rest of his ramblings about that one town.

It was at that moment that Wren realized just how much Shanks, her papa, _didn't_ know about her and how much _she_ didn't know about _him_.

When she had been younger and finally realized just what her predicament was in this world it had seemed like she had been dealt the best set of cards a person could be. Here she was with one of the most powerful pirates in the world as her papa, a man she could remember stopping the War of the Best by just showing up. It was almost too good to be true, like it was something out of a fairytale.

But the novelty of it started to run out the older she got until she got to this point in her life. Her first father, her dad, had been with her since the moment she came into the world in the Before and knew everything there was to know about her while she had been Charlotte. He knew her favourite colour, her favourite foods, and the name of each of her friends. She, in turn, knew as much as she realistically could about her father.

Shanks though, her had only shown up for a week or two and if she was lucky a month, since she had come into this world only staying long enough to do what he was required as a father before he was off again. He didn't know that her favourite colour was purple or that her favorite food was white rice and she loved lemonade nor did he know just how much she preferred being away from people in any town.

This was the longest she had been with him and it showed just how far apart they were as father and daughter.

She could almost picture a chasm with her and Shanks standing on either side of the deep fissure. Him just standing there with a nonexistent wind blowing his black captains jacket to his side as she reached out to him as her side slowly began to crumble and he just stood there doing nothing as she was pushed farther and father from his reach.

"I need you to do something for me, Songbird." That old nickname drew Wren from her thoughts, the chasm disappearing as the sea came back into focus as her papa took the fishing pole out of her hands standing it up against the railing that they were sitting on but behind them so they didn't fall overboard. "There's this little kid, probably only a year or two younger than you, who I met on my last trip."

Oh.

 _Oh._

He was talking about Luffy. He was talking about Luffy because they were getting close to Dawn Island and every second they travelled brought her closer to truly being apart of the world and not just sheltered away with her only impact on the storyline being her interactions with Shanks.

There would be no more if and or buts after she got to the island. No more half measures once she got to Dawn Island. There was no going back she would forever be apart of the storyline with no chance of turning back she had sealed her fate the moment she had set foot on the Red Force.

From what she remembered of the story, Luffy never had anyone to teach him how to survive on his own until Ace and Sabo finally accepted him as their brother and he never had anyone teach him how to use Haki until he had met Roger's old first mate; Rayleigh. But that would change with her, she had the chance to change history. She could start teaching Luffy herself and buy them some time if - when - the war came and he had to fight through Impel Down to get to Ace.

She would gladly rig the game in their favour.

"His name's Luffy, I think you'd like him." Shanks continued unaware of just what Wren was plotting in her silence. "In fact, I have a feeling that kid is going to make something of himself one day and until that day comes I'm trusting you to look after him and make sure he doesn't get into too much trouble."

"Is that the kid you gave your hat too?" She already knew the answer to her question, her fist tightening around the fabric on her knees as her knuckles turned white from the force.

"Got it in one." He threw his one arm over her shoulders pulling her in tight to his side. "Can you do that for me Songbird? I'm trusting you to look after him after all he's the one I'm betting all my chips on." Though she didn't know exactly what her papa was talking about in regards to betting but she could and did agree with a sharp nod of her head to watch over Luffy.

He was going to be pirate king one day even if she had to drag him kicking and screaming through some of the challenges on route to the finish line.

* * *

It's not until she overhears one day that Wren finds out just how close they are to Dawn Island and just how close she is to making her mark on history. If all went according to plan historians would mark the day she set foot on Dawn Island as the day the winds of change started to blow.

Two weeks before they can dock, and two weeks until her plans can be set in motion.

With one hand, she silently pushes open the door to her papa's cabin eyeing how he sits in the plush but tattered chair at his desk and the stool she stole all those days again still at the corner of his desk having never been moved back by his bed whether it is because he forgot to move it or for some other reason she will never know and doesn't care to know as it's insignificant in the long run.

Taking a deep and silent breath, adjusting her grip on the large textbook under her thin arm, Wren walked with determined steps to her stool, hoping up with little more than a grunt and plopping the historical book down on the papers her papa had been going through without looking up as she made her way into the room.

It's time she had some answers about the world and not from propaganda filled books printed by the marines to paint them in favourable lights and paint pirates and revolutionaries as worse than the devil.

She can remember from snapshots of Charlotte's memories the older version of the woman being reflected in a window and scoffing at a poster taped to the glass saying a dark haired gentleman wasn't ready for various reasons listed below his image and that they should vote for a different party.

Subtle propaganda but propaganda all the same.

In the textbook though it's always shown from the view of one sides, never any 'recovered' letters or notes from the other side showing why things were happening or how the fight was affecting them. It was so subtle that she wasn't surprised no one from this world noticed, if they were never shown any other way then this would be their normal; only seeing with one set of eyes.

History was written by the victors and those to contradict them are usually wiped out.

From her memory she knows the bare minimum of the truth; she knows that Noland the Liar wasn't lying, she knows that Ohara was destroyed because of the poneglyphs and Robin was accused of something she didn't do. She knows about the Amber Lead Syndrome from the 'White City' of Flevance and how the Marines got the nobles out but not the rest of the population leaving them to their damned fate.

But her knowledge of the world only goes so far and can only be reminded of certain things through books for so long before she need actual answers from someone who has seen both the best and the worse in the world. There are things she doesn't know like just how one gets to Raftel or if there is a way to break seastone cuffs and these are things she knows she needs to learn even if it means experimenting on herself but she hopes it doesn't have to go that far.

"Ah," he blinks at her owlishly not expecting the book to cover his paperwork or for herself to plop down on top of her liberated book, "what's up Songbird?" He looks tired, evident by the bags under his eyes but Wren can place why that would be as the last few nights have been quite peaceful for once with no midnight storms battering the ship to jolt her awake. "Papa's a little busy right now with captain stuff." There is a part of her that is bothered by his attempt to brush her off, the chasm between them growing everytime he tries to brush her off when she wants to be with him and only coming to see her when he wants.

Except, this time she isn't going to be brushed aside like an unwanted pet only to be interacted with when it was convenient for him. She is going to get her answers whether she has to act her mental age or push aside her pride and act her physical age.

She would not be going into this world blind.

* * *

It's cold out.

And he's hungry.

Mostly, he's hungry.

One Monkey D. Luffy, future pirate king and not a stinky marine, held his knees closer to his chest trying to ward off the chilly air of the night as he sat as close as he could to the small fire he had created in the rocky alcove at the bottom of the cliff Ace had pushed him down a few hours earlier.

He listened to his stomach grumble again wishing that the mushrooms he had picked not long before hadn't tasted so bad or else he would brave leaving his spot to go find more to try and fill himself up. They had looked so good, the red with white spots standing out in the mass of green everywhere but the moment he had bit into one he had felt green.

He still couldn't understand how one could feel a colour and both Shanks and Makino had tried to tell him but he had gotten bored listening to them and just went back to eating his food wishing he could tell them what they were talking about was boring but Makino had told him after the first couple of times that doing that was rude and he liked Makino she made good food and laughed at his jokes so he wouldn't do it around her.

If only Ace wasn't such a butt head. All he was trying to do was get to know the other boy, after all Gramps had told them to look after each other and since the bandits were stupid they should be friends. But every time he tried to go after the other boy he would always lose him no matter if it was because Ace knocked down a tree to try and crush him - it's always fun to blow himself back up after those times - or if he had just disappeared behind a big tree.

Stupid Gramps, he'd show him. One day he was going to be king of the pirates and there was no way he could be a marine then and wouldn't that make his Gramps mad. Serves him right. He was going to see Shanks again and show him just how strong of a pirate he had become.

Maybe he should have tried to climb the cliff, at least then he could be back at the house with a warm meal even if it was only a bowl of rice and water he could always steal off the bandits plates when they weren't looking.

If only he had someone to go hunting with, someone who could help him take down that big croc that almost ate him when he went chasing after Ace one day. Then they could be friends and maybe Ace would want to be friends with them as well then all three of them could be friends and they could hunt together and live together and they wouldn't need those stupid bandits.

His stomach growled again as he stared into the small flickering fire.

He was hungry.

* * *

A/N:

So sorry about the late update, did not realize until last night that it was time to update this story. And working until 10 did not help me get home at a reasonable time.

Also, Red Dead Redemption 2 has been kicking my butt these last few weeks. Such a good game but it breaks my heart.

I'll try to be more on time next month but as always, leave a comment telling what you liked or what you didn't as I can't improve unless I hear back from you readers.


	6. Spanish Sahara (Foals)

The ship that pulls into dock is intimately familiar to Makino but she can't help but wonder why he had returned and at such a late hour.

When Mayor Wood Slap had come stomping into the bar and grumbling that the pirates were coming back she had taken the first chance she could to go outside and investigate using a set of binoculars to get a better view of the ship slowly moving closer.

She had estimated by how far out the ship was that they wouldn't be docking until the next morning so it was a surprise to her that out of her bedroom window upstairs of the bar she could see the lanterns on the ship illuminate it as it slowly pulled up to the rickety docks.

It was well past midnight so she knew she was probably the only one in town to notice the arrival of the pirates, hurrying to but on some appropriate clothing to go outside with, trying not to look like she spent almost ten minutes deciding on a burnt orange skirt and deep red long sleeved shirt topped with a yellow bandana looking like autumn personified, she had just reached the point where the dock met land to see Shanks walking down the gangplank; alone and with a somber look on his face.

She had to do a second look, a shocked expression coming over her face no doubt when she realized that he was not carrying a purple coloured sack but a small child wearing purple clothing tucked against his good side and the child's face tucked into his neck so that their identical red hair blended together and half covered by his black coat.

This, this had to be his Wren. His little girl that he would always go on about saying how proud he was to be a father to such a talented little girl and how he would do everything he possibly could to keep her safe until she was old enough to defend herself drunkenly proclaiming that she was never allowed to date until someone found the One Piece earning laughs from everyone sober enough to still be awake after a Red-Haired Pirates party.

Bringing one hand up to cover her face as it all starts to click in her head.

His somber expression, showing up in the dead of night when barely anyone would be awake to see her bring the little girl to land, no one else from the crew making any motion to join them on land, the fact he is carrying his daughter who is still sleep even after probably being removed from her warm bed.

He's leaving her here. He's leaving his daughter here and leaving before she wakes up to save him the heartbreak of leaving her behind.

"Hi Makino." His voice is soft but neutral betraying none of the emotions he must be fighting with on the inside as all parents would at a moment like this. Gone is his usual carefree smile that pulls people in or his care-free attitude as he tells stories of fantastic weather on the Grand Line that never made any sense. In its place is a father trying to shelter his little girl from the horrors of life.

"Shanks." She greets back just as quiet as he stops mere feet away from her trying to give him a reassuring smile, being strong for him in this moment because he might not know how she feels for him and that's fine by her she'll be the rock he needs in moments like this when he doesn't have anyone else to lean on. "Is this Wren?"

"Yeah, this is her." It's small but Makino knows she heard his voice finally crack with emotion but she doesn't mention it, it's not her place and right now Shanks could start crying and would be no less of a man for it in her eyes. "Do you have some place I could put her down?"

She can only nod and motion for him to follow her catching the sight of some of the more senior members of crew watching them from the dock deck as she leads Shanks and Wren further into town.

It's quiet between them, only the soft sound of their foot step breaking the silence of the moment and even the door to the bar that always had a squeak in the hinge never made a sound as they pushes through. Or maybe it does and she just doesn't catch it because her mind is far away and her body is only going through the motions of walking back to her apartment above the bar and it is only through habit that she pushes open the door to what used to be Luffy's room until Garp came and collected him a month or two before.

She looks so peaceful, that is the first thought that crosses Makino's mind when Shanks steps back from laying his daughter down on the bed, and though she knows that Wren is only a child it isn't until that moment when Makino can see just how chubby her cheeks are with baby fat she hasn't grown out of that she wonders how anyone could want to harm a child like her.

The marines never hid their hunt for Roger's child from the public, it was general knowledge that anyone harbouring his child would be executed alongside the child and soon enough it became not just Roger's child they were hunting but the child of any know pirate or enemy of the marine's to date. Up to that point in her life, Makino never had to worry about that fact but looking down at the little red-haired girl asleep on the bed all wrapped in deep purple she couldn't help but wonder how anyone could follow such heartless orders and watch silently as children lost their lives over something they never got to choose.

"Thank you." Shank's never lifted his eyes up from Wren, watching as she snuggled deeper into the lone pillow on the bed turning her back to him and letting out a soft hum of contentment. "For everything Makino." He met her own eyes, a lone and silent tear slowly trailing down his cheek and she couldn't help but bring her own hand up to gentle wipe it away and leaving her hand against his face. "I know I shouldn't ask this but-"

"I'll look after her." She doesn't need him to finish his sentence, she already knew what he was going to ask and that moment he appeared at the bottom of the gangplank with his little girl Makino knew she would take the child in like she had Luffy with no questions asked.

A soft set of lips on her forehead pulled her from her thoughts, so soft she almost never felt it until the firm feel of Shank's lone hand on the back of her head was there pulling her own closer to his.

"Papa loves you Songbird." Shank's voice was soft, trailing his hand down from the back of Makino's head to thread his fingers through her own giving him that extra distance needed to kneel down and brush the red locks out of Wren's face and pressed a kiss against her forehead. "I will come back for you the first moment I can. This isn't forever."

For all that Makino had known about Shanks, never had the man told her about how he could sing even such a somber song, clearly one he had sung time and time before to his daughter if the small smile that pulled at her face even in her sleep was anything to go off of.

"Leaves from the vine. Falling so slow. Like fragile, tiny shells. Drifting in the foam. Little pirate girl. Come sailing home. Brave pirate girl. Comes sailing home."

She gave Shanks as much time as he needed in the room, keeping her silence as she stood beside him and just being the rock he needed giving his hand a squeeze back when he finished singing to Wren and continuously holding his hand tight as they backed out of the room together and never letting go until the last possible second when he started up the gangplank to his ship.

Makino might not be cut out for the pirate life and may only have a bare understanding of the world outside her little village and her little island but she could understand plain as day that Shanks had just left her with his most valued treasure worth more to him than all the gold in the world.

She would protect that little girl with all her might.

* * *

This was not the bed she had fallen asleep in last night.

The fact her room was not rocking slightly with the current of the ocean was the biggest tip off when she had opened her eyes in the pitch dark room and it was only when she had sat up and seen the window directly above her bed that she quickly parted the curtains on did she see that she was no longer on her papa's ship but instead on land, in some strangers house.

There is no sign of the Red Force at the docks, not even a dingy or the silhouette of the ship on the horizon.

Did... did she do something wrong?

Wren couldn't help but pull her legs up to her chest, worrying her lip with her teeth as she poured over everything that had gone on while she had been on board the Red Force. Had... had this been because she had sat on his paperwork that one day and made him answer her questions, even if he didn't give her an concrete ones. He never gave any physical sign that he was annoyed by her line of questioning and seemed more amused than anything else.

Maybe... maybe she had read him wrong but that couldn't be true, her mother had taught her how to read people with some offhand comment about the ability to read people being in their blood. Claimed it had to do with their eyes, they unnerved people which was a benefit to them.

There were footsteps outside of the bedroom she was in, a boys bedroom going from the colour scheme and few toys still scattered around and piled in a small wooden box in the corner painted a light blue by flaking to show the blonde wood underneath, but Wren never picked her head up from digging her knees into her eye sockets as the door creaked open and light footsteps, unfamiliar ones and that tore at her even more, crossed the room before someone light but still heavier than her sat down the bed beside thankfully not touching her as she didn't need sympathy from anyone at the moment.

She didn't know how long she sat there for in silence, the faint sounds of birds chirping outside muffled by the walls, before she finally pulled her had up enough to now rest her chin just staring at the wall opposite of her and pointedly ignoring the woman, and it was clearly a woman from the choice of dress she could see in her peripheral vision and how slim she was, sitting beside her. There beside the door and half hidden by it's shadow was her ratty old bag so at least her papa had been kind enough to leave that behind with her and seeing as she always put everything back in it at the end of the night she didn't need to worry about her notebook being left behind.

The shadows in her room had grown shorter when the other woman finally broke the silence and honestly, Wren would have preferred it if she never had opened her mouth and just let her keep pretending that her papa who told her he loved her and would always be there for her and protect her from harm, would walk through the bedroom door and take her back to Gaul.

"Wren, my name's Makino. It's a pleasure to meet you. Your dad has told me-"

"Papa." She is surprised at her own tone and how sharp it is when she snaps at Makino even though she knows the woman is not who she is really angry at and she finally turns her gaze on the older woman dressed in a red plaid high collared shirt and cream coloured skirt with free flowing green hair framing her face and highlighting her red eyes, the colour of drying blood but Wren will keep that comparison to herself. "Papa has told you about me." Because Shanks was still papa and was not dad, dad never abandoned Charlotte like Shanks did to her. He didn't even say goodbye, just dropped her off and took off.

She has to give Makino some props though because the woman never faltered, "Sorry," she apologized giving Wren a small smile, "Your papa has told me about you." Makino got up from the bed, smoothing down the front of her skirt before kneeling in front of Wren, that friendly smile still on her face. "I know you must be confused right now but how about we go down stairs and I make you some breakfast. Any requests?"

Part of her, and it was a small part, really wanted to hate her. Wanted to hate Makino for just existing at that moment and wanted to hate her for some how with one sentence being understanding of just what Wren was going through internally because she was right, Wren wasn't mad now that she had some time to think, she was just confused and was mistaking that confusion for anger or annoyance.

"Scrambled eggs and bacon?" Wren offered back using one thumb to rub away the slight pain from where her teeth had been digging into her lip.

Makino offered her hand and Wren, though hesitant, slowly placed her own hand in the older woman's noting just how soft her hands were compared to her own, having been roughed up because of calluses that built up from her own training, and compared to how she remember her mother's were even after she used her homemade lotion that smelt of lemons.

* * *

There is a calendar on the wall behind, the right year unlike the one on the Red Force, with days crossed out showing it is now halfway through July and it had been the beginning of March when she left Volca with her papa. So she had spent almost five months at sea and to be truthful, it never seemed like that long.

Well, she now knew that she was nine. Happy birthday to her.

She couldn't help but spear her scrambled eggs with her fork, shoving the mouthful into her mouth, her legs swinging back and forth on the stool Makino had helped her jump up into as she watched the world pass by out the window giving Makino a small smile herself as the woman set a small glass of the lemonade she had asked for.

"After you finish up I can take you for a walk around town, get you acquainted with the town. It might not be what you're used to but I think you'll come to like it." Making leans across the bar from the opposite side that ever present smile on her face as Wren watches her still munching on the scrambled eggs, she had quickly inhaled the bacon strips, and wonders how she can be so happy.

She has been left to care for a man's daughter, a girl she has never met from a woman she has never met. Not to mention, who knows what kind of relationship Makino had with her papa, it was never out right stated in the Before so she can only hypothesize and watch the woman's body language.

What bothers her the most is the lack of loud monkey, from what she could recap of Charlotte's memories Luffy was never far from Makino's side and the fact she has yet to see him is nagging at her.

"Whose room was I in?" Wren sipped at her lemonade she can already hazard a guess but to her someone confirm it can give her a better sense of where the world stands. If Luffy was just staying the night with someone else, like the mayor, then she might get to go up to where the bandits are with him the first time but if he's gone already then who knows what had happened and that left Wren with the task of having to find him in the forest.

Like looking for a needle in a haystack.

"Oh," she can't tell if Makino is surprised by her question like she had been expecting her to ask about the town or the people who lived in it or if it was something else entirely, Wren would have to sharpen her skills later it should have been easy for her. "Why, that's Luffy's room." And her suspicions were confirmed.

Pushing her hair back out of her face with her small hand, Wren brough that same hand up to her lips placing her finger between her teeth and lightly clamping down as she slowly created a game plan.

Find Luffy, that was step one and something she was planning to do even before her papa had asked so now it was just a matter of following through. Then there was the matter of leaving town without Makino worrying, the other woman didn't need to think that she lost a child a literal day after being given custody of her. The final step could come after getting to Luffy if she got to Luffy, and that was making sure the kid survived living in the woods.

It was almost two in the afternoon so there were only so many hours left in the day by the time she got out from under Makino's watch and had a chance to go through her bag and make sure she was only bringing the bare necessities as there was no reason to go trekking through the woods weighed down, that could be the difference between life and death.

"Where is he?" Her question was worded innocently enough that Makino wouldn't be able to see the hidden meaning behind it.

The older woman only smiled picking a white apron off the hook behind the bar and tying it behind her, "His grandfather took him up the mountain a month ago. It's been quiet in town since he's been gone, he would always light up my day with stories of what he was going to do when he became a-"

"I'm going after him." Her gaze is steel meeting the slightly shocked gaze of Makino but can only hold it a few seconds before looking away and one hand coming up to run her fingers through her hair that now sits at her shoulder. "Papa asked me to look after him and I promised him," herself, "that I would." She mumbles out with that simple of an explanation, Makino doesn't really need to know more and it might be better if she doesn't.

A hand that is not her own runs over her head and through her red locks, jerking her from her thoughts as that was something her mother would do with Wren when they would sit on the couch in the living room back on Volca and watch the sunset over the trees.

The smile Makino gives her is a hesitant one, a smile that screams apprehension and that she is unwilling to let Wren leave do set out on her journey. "I don't think it's such a good idea for a little girl to go running through the woods alone. It's dangerous and we wouldn't want to worry your papa would we."

"I'm going to find him. I promised papa I would look after him and I never break a promise to papa. He wouldn't have asked me if he didn't think I could do it." She might not know just what kind of relationship Makino has with her papa but she is not above using whatever it is, even if it is just a friendship to get what she wants. Nothing is standing between her and changing the world.

There is conflict in Makino's ruby eyes, the only physical sign being when she bites her own lip. Wren can see why the woman is hesitant to let her go but at the same time she also grew up on the Grand Line where pirates roamed and had even seen various groups come to her home island of Gaul and going after one kid in the forest isn't any more dangerous then waking up each morning the child of an Emperor.

She can see the moment Makino gives in.

* * *

After not seeing her own reflection for almost five months it's almost like looking at a stranger and not looking at her own reflection staring back in the bathroom mirror after wiping away the steam that fogged up the glass after she finished her bath.

Showers, or at least baths, everyday for the rest of her life. No more going five months without a proper washing and not even the excuse of being on a boat was going to stop her.

Her skin now had a healthy tan to it, no longer pale like her mother's but more like her papa's from being on board his ship for all those months. And her hair had gotten longer the curls starting to be weighed down by the length but still not heavy enough to be completely rid of said curls. At least her wouldn't have to deal with the main of curls that Charlotte had to her whole life, now that was a pain in the ass to deal with.

She pinched her cheek with one hand, was she ever going to lose this baby fat? Yes, she knew it would leave when she started to hit puberty but how long until that bag of wet cats wanting out popped up and started it's reign of terror. Especially if she was having to deal with boys going through it as well.

If, she made it.

No. There was no more thinking like that. She was here, she was alive and she would make a difference in the world.

Shaking her head, it was a simple matter to pull on the clean clothing Makino had laid on the countertop, clearly a boys and so obviously clashing with her natural colours; yellow and green did not go with red. The second she could get her hands on some purple clothing she would be so much happier and less of an eyesore.

She blew a stray back back out of her face with a hard and quick breath narrowing her eyes when it fell back down with it started.

First thing was first, she had hair that needed to be dealt with and seeing as her last elastic to hold it all back had broke on the Red Force she was hoping that Makino would have another one or at least something that would do in place of one for the time being.

Picking her bag up off the tidy bed, one last check to make sure that she still had her notebook, picture of her mother and some provision to last a few days because who knows how long it would be until she could get a home cooked meal again, Wren quietly closed the door behind her shoulder her bag as she headed down the hall to where Makino had pointed out her own room was the night before.

It was a simple room, nothing extravagant or expensive, but it matched her personality to a tee. There was a window also above her bed, this one pointed out over the town and away from the docks unlike the one in Luffy's old room had been. A potted plant sat on the window sill, it looked to be a single stalk with numerous flowers in full bloom growing up going from a wider base to a pointed top and a violet-blue colour. Clearly Makino had gone to great lengths to take care of the plant as it didn't look to be new and there was a set of small pruning shears sitting beside it.

Speaking of the woman, she was sitting at a desk with a pen in her hand lightly tapping it against a lone mug sitting on the back corner as she had a far off look in her eyes that Wren could see in her profile.

"Ah, Makino." The older woman jumped in her seat, green hair flying as her head spun so quickly Wren was sure she pulled a muscle in her neck. "Do you have a hair tie or something I could have. My last one broke on the ship." She scuffed the for of her shoes on the hardwood floor eyes following the rings left over from the trees the wood had come from.

The older woman sat back after getting over her initial shock of Wren sneaking up on her, a lone and dainty hand coming up to gentle hold her chin as her gaze went to the pale coloured ceiling above and a quiet but still audible hum echoed in the room.

"I don't have a hair tie," she spun the chair around, gracefully standing up her strides, though shortened because of the skirt she wears, were quiet even though the shoes she wears have hard wooden bottoms as she travels to a lone white door and pulling out a dust covered box with a small padlock keeping said dust out and off whatever is inside. "But I'm sure we can find something in here."

Hats. The box was filled to the brim with multiple hats and what looked to be the tails of variously coloured and patterned bandanas.

Wren had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. Makino had a box filled with hats and bandanas but didn't own a single hair tie she could part with, not even a strand of twine. But, what the Hell, in for a penny in for a pound.

* * *

The barmaid couldn't help but purse her lips as she stood back up with her hands on her slender hips as she inspected yet another hat, this one a white beanie that had needed to be reshaped after losing its form at the bottom of the box.

No matter how well white and red usually go together, it seems like this is just one of those times they want to clash.

Running a hand through her hair, eyeing the large pile of hats and bandanas they had gone through. So many different styles, so many different colours, and so many different patterns but nothing seemed to work.

Not even the various plaits and updos seemed to work, Wren wrinkling her nose at each attempt and shaking her hair back out.

As much as it pained her to think about it, when Wren turned those pupil-less and the light hit the eerie colour just right, it was clear that those very eyes were the reason that nothing was working.

Red was hard enough to find a complimenting colour for, but to add in the uncommon coloured eyes make it almost impossible to find a colour or pattern that would complement the girl's natural colour both now as a child and when she grew older.

There was not many choices left in her box; a black beanie, another white beret with red polka dots, a tan fisherman's hat Mayor Wood Slap had left behind one day and never asked to have returned, and a royal purple bandana.

Purple like the little shirt she had come wearing just two nights ago that antagonised neither her red hair or seafoam green eyes.

It was big on her but given time it would grow it fit the young girl as she grew into a young woman. But for now Makino pulled out the large fabric square, folded in such a way that it became a thin rectangle with two pointed ends.

Gently maneuvering Wren's hair to have the middle of the folded bandana sit under her thick red hair, she carefully tied the pointed ends in a knot just off centre and holding back the few stray short wisps of hair.

Seafoam green eyes stare innocently up at her, the colour softened, if possible, and her red hair popping with the dark cloth.

It looks even better than she had hoped.

* * *

Shouldering her bag higher over one shoulder, Wren had to resist the urge to scratch at the new hair piece Makino had given her. She wasn't used to wearing a bandana but she wasn't going to undo the carefully arranged piece. It had taken almost two hours before they had both agreed that the royal purple bandana was the best choice out of all the items in Makino's box.

She was staring out at the vast forest, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes as she focused deep in her own mind to stretch out her senses using Observation Haki to try and she if she could get a sense of everything living in the immediate vicinity.

It wasn't like there was a high possibility that anyone or anything on this island being able to suppress their aura like she could. According to her papa, during the trip to Dawn Island, he revealed to her that the ability to suppress one's aura was not a common but not rare ability for those who have a natural affinity for Observational Haki to have. It was supposedly an advanced technique but she had picked it up so naturally.

Something she could focus on later, right now she had a little kid to find.

Flicking her eyes open, she shock off her nerves pushing aside low hanging branches as each step she took brought her deeper into the unknown and hopefully closer to either Luffy's location or at least the bandit's house.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, wasn't that how the saying went?

And honestly, how hard could it be to find one loud kid in a silent forest.

* * *

A/N

I debated with myself for a few days about whether or not to post this on the 23rd or wait for today and, obviously, I picked today.

I was originally going to call this chapter 'Remember Me' from the fact I had that song from the Disney movie 'Coco' in this chapter instead of my version of 'Leaves on the Vine' that most people know from 'Avatar: The Last Airbender'.

Hope everyone has a great holiday season and don't forget to comment.


	7. My Silver Lining (First Aid Kit)

Judging from the position of the sun directly above both her head and from the lack of angled shadows, it was not that large of a stretch for Wren to assume that it was at least midday for all the good that did her.

Plopping her bag down on the moss, twig, and dead leaf covered ground, Wren pulled out a bottle of water as she gently tested a fallen log for stability and upon finding it able to hold her weight perched herself down using one arm to wipe away the small layer of sweat building up on her forehead.

Even after traveling in the forest, she was still no closer to finding Luffy or the bandits. It shouldn't have been this hard, there was only so much of the island the forest could cover and, realistically speaking, only so far the kid could travel by himself.

Closing her eyes yet again, Wren stretched her senses out as far as she could go with her abilities.

One of the first things her mama had taught her in regards to using Observation Haki was its ability to sense where other living lifeforms were, How to sense how close or how far away they were from you and just what they were and just how many or how few there were. That was demonstrated by the times her mama would have her go out into the forest surrounding their little home and have her tell the older woman just what was around them, each time trying to get her to push her senses farther out.

Her mama could do that without closing her eyes or having to stand still whereas Wren still needed to block out the rest of the world and only focus on her senses.

The second thing she had taught her was that Observation Haki could be used to predict where attacks would be coming from. Cat-like reflexes was the best description her mama could give and it was an apt description at that. The days that they trained focusing on that aspect where the more painful days as her mama would tie a blindfold over her eyes and have Wren try to dodge the tennis balls her mama would lob at her, not at all softly either.

The only mention she ever made about the ability to suppress one's aura was that she couldn't do it and that was something Wren needed to find out on her own.

Wren hadn't actually meant to find out she had that ability; it was more a fluke than anything else. She knew from memories that there were people in this world that could use Observation Haki to sense others and she simply pondered if one could suppress that aura enough that the average Observation Haki user wouldn't be able to sense them. See them, yes as she didn't think there was truly a way to make a person disappear in this world without the aid of devil fruits but if one could become invisible to those using Observation Haki then just imagine the places they could get into.

But, getting back to the topic at hand, her senses lit up with 'energy' of various life forms dotting the forest around her.

The best way she could describe the feeling was that it was like being a radar. She would send out radio waves and when they hit something living they would 'ping' back to her telling her were the creature was, how big, how many, and what direction it was moving in if at all. The first time this had happened, it scared the daylights out of her but now it was just normal.

There was a tiger about a kilometer to the right of her and it was crouching down and aimed in the direction of a large bird just in front of it. Wren would have to note to avoid that direction for a little while.

A large snake, even bigger than the tiger, half a kilometer in front of her slithering across the forest floor heading in her direction slowly but surely. She would need to move on from her location before it got any funny ideas about trying to eat her, and she had no illusions that it would be whole.

She briefly wondered if the snakes in this world followed the rule of thumb like the ones in the Before, the whole red on yellow kills a fellow and red on black a friend of Jack. Could be useful for later if they did but she would need to get a book on snake species in this world. Might be useless later on in life once she was off the island, and she would leave at some point, but while she was here it would be a good idea to collect as much information as she could to help her survive.

An ungodly amount of birds were sitting in the tree canopies above her but none seemed focused on her so she just brushed them off as none of them seemed to be of any danger to him.

A rodent, maybe a rat from the shape, of unusual size was scurrying around with quick pauses every few seconds that involved lifting its head up before taking off and repeating the process.

And there was a pack of wolves, if three could be considered a pack, very obviously on the hunt of some unsuspecting prey not far from their location. It was slightly mesmerizing to watch how with just a swish of a tail from the lead, Wren could assume this one was the alpha of the small pack, wolf caused the other two to split off and circle around in a pincer formation to cut off their prey's escape routes.

A very human shaped prey.

A very human shaped prey that was stretching his arms out farther than what any normal human should be able to do.

Damn it!

Shooting her eyes open, Wren hastily shoved her water bottle back in her bag and only half zipped it backup before taking off in a tear in the direction she had sensed the wolves hunting Luffy, and it was obviously Luffy because who else in this world could have eaten a Devil Fruit that turned them into rubber, with tree branches whipping by her face tearing at her exposed skin as her feet carried her as fast as they could across the forest until the trees finally gave way to a low valley.

Her heart hammering in her chest was interfering with her ability to focus her Observation Haki to be of any use to help her better locate Luffy and the wolves so, with a shake of her head, Wren took off down the small hill trying not to lose her balance from the momentum as she held up her two small arms to protect her face as she hit the second tree line at the bottom of the valley.

A small male child's scream tore through the trees and, though twisted as it sounds, Wren smiled a small smirk at the noise and inwardly asked the kid to keep screaming so she could track him by sound at least since tracking by Observation Haki was a no go at the moment.

Grabbing the first handle she could when she reached blindly into her bag, Wren quickly tucked the dagger, about the length of her arm from the palm of her hand up to her bicep, in such a way that as she ran she reduced the risk of it impaling her in any way as the child, Luffy it was obviously Luffy, screamed again and the sound of wolves barking and snarling could be heard this time.

Only part of her hesitated, the lizard brain part that influenced the fight or flight response in humans, but she had to shove it to the side as she barreled into the newest clearing flipping the dagger in her hand around to strike at the first wolf circling the tree trunk.

She could only hope that her mama's training paid off here.

* * *

One of the wolves drop.

It's a muffled thump as it hits the ground with all four legs collapsing underneath of itself, but it lets out a yelp as something red and purple strikes it in the side. That's one less for him to worry about at the moment as he rapidly swings his legs back and forth to try to catch the tree trunk and haul himself up higher.

He was lucky that he noticed a mushroom on the ground or else he would be the meal.

It isn't right though! He should be the one eating them because they are the meat, not him. He hasn't been back to the bandits hut in over five days and that was three... no eleven... no eight... it was a lot of missed meals.

That first day he tried to eat the red mushrooms with the white polka dots had upset his stomach and the night before he had tried to eat some green ones with blue spots in the shape of squares but they turned his head funny and made the trees around him dance and sing which was strange because trees shouldn't dance or sing and then the world started to sway even though he had been laying still on his back.

He was lucky to have found that small puddle not far from where he was now or had probably be thirsty.

He would be thirsty and hungry.

Oh look, another wolf dropped as the red creature jumped away to avoid the last wolf.

That makes two dead wolves and he wonders if he should take the chance and start climbing back down the tree as the red creature is fighting against the last wolf, the biggest of the three that nearly bit into Shanks's hat, but he doesn't know if the other creature is friendly or if it would want to eat him as well after it's done with the last wolf.

He starts climbing up to the next highest branch, letting out a whimper when the branch he had only been standing on seconds before snaps and plummets to the ground and lands on top of one if the already dead wolves.

The last wolf lets out its own yelp, a black tail disappearing into the trees around them as it retreats from the red creature standing just below the tree he's clinging too.

No, it's not a red creature. It's a tiny red haired adult.

No, that was wrong. It wasn't a tiny adult it was a kid, just like him.

He keeps one eye on the other kid, they are holding a weapon and who knows if they're friendly or not, who has their back turned to him and is obviously wiping the big knife they have off on their shirt as he slowly climbs down the tree and landing with a huff on the ground but the other kid never turns back to look at him, they just keep standing over the second dead wolf.

"You okay, kid?" The other kid is not like him, she's a she not a he. "They didn't get you did they?" She walks away from him, tucking her big knife into her pants and reaches down into a bramble bush to sling a bag over one of her shoulders before turning back to look at him using her free hand to shield her eyes from the sun. There is a streak of red across her face but she doesn't seem to notice.

He looks down at the two wolves sitting in puddles of their own blood, lightly kicking the one closest to him to make sure that it was dead and not just sleeping like one of the pigs back in Foosha had that one time. He would have been trampled had Shanks not been there.

Maybe he can get the girl to use her knives and cook him up some meat. Dadan usually uses her own special knives to cut up the animals that Ace would bring in so maybe this girl will cut up the wolves so that they could have some meat because meat was good and more people should eat it, but not his meat because that was his and he only shared with his nakama.

"Here, I'm sure they can hear your stomach all the way on the otherwise of the island." He looked up from the wolf to see the other girl just a few feet away from him with one hand outstretched towards him holding-

"Meat!" He lunges at girl, greedily taking the strip of meat out of her hands and ripping into it, or at least trying to as he had to tug the meat back and forth between his teeth to even pull off a piece. "Hey, what gives?" He mumbles around the piece of meat in his mouth, it's tough but not too tough and salty without being too salty.

"It's jerky." The girl explains ripping off a small piece of her own meat - jerky - with her fingers and plopping it into her own mouth, her eyes are squinting at him so he can barely see them. "Dried meat." She explains finishing off her own small piece and nudging the dead wolf beside her feet. "Would say we could make more from these guys but they look like nothing but skin and bones."

He doesn't really understand what she means but that because clearly the wolves are more than just skin and bones since they have fur and can be cut up into piece and cooked up but he's happy just to have something to eat, in particular meat, for the first time in forever.

"I'm Wren." There is another hand outstretched towards him but this one doesn't have any meat in it so it takes him a second to realize she wants to shake his hand, much like what Shanks had done with him the first time they officially met. Well, second since the first time they met he stabbed himself under his eye and still has the scar from it; his first as a pirate.

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy and I'm going to be king of the pirates." He proclaims proudly giving her a big smile because he might be small now but when he gets older he won't need anyone's help and will be able to take on a pack of wolves without having to climb up trees to get away.

"King of the pirates, eh." She gives him a small smile, a hand on one hip as she leans to the side, "Well, every pirate needs a good crew, especially the future pirate king's. So, trouble, where is your crew?" She uses one hand to ruffle his hair and he has to bat it away, pouting because he wasn't a little kid he was the future pirate king no matter what anyone said.

"Well," he trailed off before reaffirming with conviction, "I don't have a crew. YET! But when I do, it's going to be the best crew ever." He pumps a fist in the air at just the thought of having the best best crew. "Hey, you should join because you're really strong and nice and we should be nakama." She had given him some of her own jerky-meat and was nice so they should be nakama.

"Nakama?" The girl cocks her head to side the side giving him a confused look.

"Yeah! We'll be crewmates so that makes us nakama." What is there to be confused about, it is so simple in his mind.

She is quiet, her lips pursed and eyes closed as she crosses her arms across her chest before nodding to herself and opening her eyes to stare into his own, "Well then, captain, you got a place for us to stay?

"Yup!"

And with that, he was on his way to starting his crew.

* * *

Nakama.

It is such a foreign sounding word in a world that speaks a similar dialect to English without actually being English. Much like how the English language in the Before had its origins from Latin and the main language in this world, the common tongue Wren had taken to calling it, clearly originated it from a English-like language even if the written word was nowhere close to resembling anything from the Before that she could remember.

A branch smacked her in the face and Wren had to resist the urge to let out an annoyed groan at the fact Luffy seemed to forget that it wasn't nice to not hold back branches for those walking behind you so that they didn't hit another person in the face.

Instead, she just let out a heavy sigh and brushed a hand across her face where it throbbed from the impact making a face as she scratched away the dried blood still on her face from the fight with the wolves. Part of her wished to take her bottle of water and wash away from flaking bodily fluids but the rational part of her argued against that as that one bottle of water had to hydrate two people until they came upon either a water source or got to the bandit hut where Luffy was supposed to be leading her.

"Eh, hold up a moment Luffy." She brushes the branch that just hit her to the side and calls to the trouble maker's retreating back as his head literally spins one eighty without the rest of his body moving. Part of her freaks out at that because a normal human can't do that before her mind catches backup and she remembers that her ate devil fruit that made his body rubber.

Just where does the rubber end? And how far can his body stretch? If he gets flattened by any means, will he 'reinflate'? These are all questions she needs to know if she is going to train him to just Haki and as much as the kid is cute when he gives her that big brown eyed look she knows he won't know. There are books on devil fruits, there has to be in this world, so all she needs to do is get her hands on one.

"Let's rest a moment, get our bearings and all that jazz." She drops her bag to the forest floor and wiping away at her brow. If it had been hot in the morning it was now boiling but only Wren seemed to be feeling the heat as Luffy bounced back to her. Was that just him or had his devil fruit affected his energy levels? More question that needed answers when she got her hands on that book.

"Can we eat the rest of the meat now?" They've only been walking for an hour, maybe two at this point, and Wren has gone longer and done more with less food in her stomach.

"No." They don't have that much to begin with since Luffy got it in his head to look over her shoulder when she was rearranging her bag to put her dagger back in and had seen her food rations. One look at the food she had sitting there and he was gone, much like her food rations then were. They now just had four strips of jerky between them to last however long it took to get to the bandit's hut or hunt their own food.

"Why not." He flopped on the ground, head rising up with each spoken word from where his chin was resting against the ground.

As much as she wants to explain to him that it is not a good idea to eat all the food at one time she also knows that given his history that Charlotte remembered it would go in one ear and out the other so her best bet is to either let him figure it out on his own or wait until someone else, with a good kick and who makes for a hell of a cook, can take charge of this.

"Say, Luffy, can you read and write?" Best to get a jump on this while she can, judge where he is at for an education and make sure he can at least understand basic wording. He doesn't have to be able to spell each word from the dictionary but he needs to at least understand the basics.

"Yup!" He perks up again; no longer moody from when she had told him he couldn't have any more food. "Makino taught me. I can read all the bounties behind her bar now! I was going to show Shanks the next time he was on the island that I can read what it says on his own bounty poster now."

Something tugs in Wren's gut, it's a feeling she can't really describe and doesn't want too. It's obvious that Luffy worships her papa, one could even argue that it's a hero worship and all Wren wants to do is yell at him that Shanks is a coward because only cowards leave their daughters behind on strange islands without saying goodbye.

But she doesn't.

Wren only bites her lip to hold back her biting words.

F-O-L-E-Y W-R-E-N, she directs her anger into digging the letters that spell out her name into the ground, making them deep so they stand out against the debris on the ground. M-O-N-K-E-Y D L-U-F-F-Y she writes just underneath before tossing the stick into the forest behind her.

"The top is my name and the bottom is yours." She explains as Luffy picks himself up off the ground and comes to stand beside her. "My mama named me after the birds that lived in the forest surrounding the house she raised me in." Thinking about her mama helps to calm her anger even if it makes her sad at the thought that her mama has no idea if she survived the trip or not. "Maybe, someday when we become famous pirates we can stop by and I can show you." And she can see her mama again.

* * *

The snake she had tried to avoid earlier found the last wolf from the pack that had attacked Luffy, and it was obvious it was the wolf from earlier from the amount of fresh scarring on its face that Wren had inflicted before it had run off.

The brightly coloured reptilian had its mouth extended around the wolf, muscles in its jaw jerking with each second it spent trying to swallow the black wolf whole as said animal fruitlessly tried to escape from the literal jaws of death, it's front paws trying to dig into the ground in front of it up only digging up the dead grass and leaves as the snake twisted it's body around to shift the wolf further down it's long throat.

"Woah!" Luffy gushed beside her, jaw dropped as they watched the example of survival of the fittest to it's finest below them. "Do you think I can do that?" His gaze turned to her, eyes wide with what looked like hope.

Wren just hummed, wiping her hands on her palms on her pant legs as she stood up from her crouched position, "Maybe kid." She had no doubts that when Luffy got older and had more training with his devil fruit powers that he could, with no problem, open his mouth up wider than even the snake and shove more than just a half starved wolf in his mouth at one time. "But, let's not tempt fate." A snake that size would not just be satisfied with just one meal and she didn't want to be course two of three. "Come on." She extended a hand to help him up from where he was sitting on the ground and brushing off the dead pine needles stuck to his bottom getting giggles from the young boy as he tried to dance away but kept getting pulled back since she still had hold of his one hand.

From the position of the sun as they hit the edge of the forest leading to a large cliff face, Wren can only guess that it's well into the afternoon maybe even hitting the first few hours of what could be considered evening and it's only then that her stomach makes it known that it wants food right then and there but it does make sense to her since she hadn't eaten in a couple of hours and they had been doing nothing but walking.

"I know this place." Luffy sprinted ahead, running head first into the cliff face earning a chuckle from Wren as he fell back. But even running into the cliff didn't seem to affect him any as he sprung back up and spun on his heel to face Wren with a large smile on his face, "I fell off of this place a few days ago. The bandit's hut isn't far."

Looking to her right, there was a wide trunked tree lying on its side with the bottom frayed in such a way that showed it had been knocked over with force so she was thinking less of a he fell down a cliff as it was chased over it with said tree. It was just a matter of finding out whether the tree fell over naturally, but given the sight of healthy green leaves that was unlikely, or if someone knocked it over personally.

They had a few options that Wren could see turning her head back to look up at the top of the cliff. They could either try to walk to the left or the right and hopefully find a place that they could walk up safely but they would take them into the unknown and who knows how long it would take them to find a safe place to climb up. Or, and Wren was not looking forward to this option, they could attempt to scale the cliff face.

Back on Volca, Wren had spent many hours climbing the trees in the forest around her childhood home so she was not a stranger to climbing up dangerous things but at least with trees a person had branches under them giving them a small margin of error should they fall. A cliff though, a cliff had little to no margin for error; if you slipped or lost your hold you were going to fall and either bruise something, break something, or die.

And from what she could remember from Charlotte's memories, Luffy would find a way to hurt himself even if he was a rubber boy at this point.

Wren needed to find a third option that wouldn't involve trying to walk around a cliff or try to climb it. She placed her left thumb in between her teeth and closed her eyes as she tried to think of a plan of action.

There was always the knocked over tree, she could try to lift that up and lean it up against the cliff in such a way that eliminated having to climb up roughly half the cliff but there was the issue of whether she was strong enough, even with the use of Haki, to lift that tree. Luffy was made of rubber and could probably stretch his arm-

"I'll race you to the top!"

-up far enough and if just a few quick motions they could be at the top-

What?

Her eyes shoot upon and sure enough, there is Luffy scrambling up the cliff side and raining down small chips of stone as he kicks his feet against the cliff whenever he can't find a foothold for them seemingly not having a mental plan for climbing up the stone face like sane people would do while free climbing.

"Damn it." Wren cursed tearing the bottom half of her shirt with a dagger she quickly grabbed from her backpack and using the strip of fabric as a rope to tie the straps of her backpack together in front of her so it lowered the chance of the bag falling off during her trek up the cliff face.

Not only was she going to strangle the kid when she got her hands on him but now she also needed a new shirt.

"God damn idiot. Doesn't even wait. No thought to try and find a way around the problem, just decides he's going to climb the cliff with no help." Wren grumbled slowly making her way up the cliff planning each move and keeping a continuous eye on Luffy as she did so pausing every now and then to make sure he wasn't going to fall when it was clear he had gotten to a difficult point in the climb.

"I'm winning!" He called down, finally finding a spot where he could put both his feet and turns his head to look at her.

"I'm going to kill him." Wren narrowed her eyes at his retreating back. "I'm going to kill him and pretend that I never met him and when I get older I'm going to leave the island and find a place to settle down so far removed from anyone so I'll never have to deal with pirates ever again."

Lady luck must have been smiling down at her, or it was just pure dumb luck and she was willing to bet it was more of the latter, since they were able to safely climb up the cliff face with only one near heart attack after Luffy lost his footing so close to the top.

Hauling herself up the last bit of her own climb, Wren flopped over on to her back as she hung her legs over the edge, her arms feeling like noodles, limp wet noodles, as she closed her eyes and tried to regain her breath while also keeping an ear on Luffy dancing around behind her singing that he had beat her up the cliff even though she never agreed to the so called race.

She couldn't kill him, as much as she wanted to at that moment. He was just a kid who had no sense of self preservation and had no idea that either one of them could have died.

Raising one hand to pinch the corners of her eyes, Wren took in a deep breath through her nose and exhaled loudly opening her eyes to see a flock of four birds flying overhead in the reddening but still clear sky.

"Hey Wren," Luffy plopped down beside her with a huff from the impact. How did he still have so much energy after climbing that cliff? Must be a side effect of his devil fruit. "We're really really really close now." He grinned down at her with a wide smile that caused his eyes to close from just how wide and 'D' shaped it was.

Oh.

Well, silver linings.

* * *

A/N

I'm a little ahead of my usual posting schedule but I figured since this chapter was done I should post it now anyway.

As always, please remember to comment as it helps me continue to want to write.


	8. Bad Blood (Bastille)

There is another brat standing at her doorstep, covered in dust and a streak of dried blood flaking off across her face, matching her own, and what she thought was intimidating, gaze with dead eyes and a slight down turn of her lips.

Luffy, Garp's bastard grandson that he dumped on them two months ago is happily standing beside the new red headed brat with the creepiest eyes she has seen in years, swinging their connected hands back and forth as the rest of her group stands behind her staring down at the two children.

At least Luffy had Garp's eyes so she could tell their familial relation, even that brat Ace could be argued looked like Garp if one stretched their imagination and never saw an image of Roger. But this new brat, there is nothing she shares with Garp or Luffy or Ace so she has no idea who this new brat is.

No, nope, she drew the line at Luffy and there was no way that this new brat would be staying here. She didn't need the added stress of having a little girl around once the boys got older.

The mess of red hair on the girl's head is nothing like her own personal ginger locks, and clashes horribly with the torn yellow shirt and mud covered green pants. The only thing that even remotely looks nice on the girl is the purple bandana doing a poor job of keeping her hair back and out of those eerie coloured eyes.

Never had she met a person with those pupil-less greenish coloured eyes and never again did she want to.

"Who the Hell are you." Her voice is stern, maybe if she can't get rid of the kid by glaring down at her she can't get rid of the kid by scaring her with her voice even if the girl never flinches at the sound of her raised voice.

"This is When." Luffy chirps happily having none of the tact to feel the tension between the two groups. What kind of a name is When though? "She's my nakama so she's staying here with me now." Well that explains how the kid survived the last few days out in the woods out on whatever harebrained adventure he found himself on.

"We're bandit's not a charity case. It's already bad enough you and Ace are staying here we're not taking in another brat." Dadan will not be taking in another brat. Doesn't matter if this one is a girl and judging from both Ace and Luffy's track record this one will probably be just as much trouble if not more. Wouldn't have surprised her any if the girl never had to work for anything all her life, she's probably used to having anything and everything given to her by her parents.

Only the girl is undeterred and, with those cold dead eyes still holding onto Luffy's hand, marches her way into the house they call their own not even batting an eye at the people leering over top of her, never paying them any mind and only humming to Luffy's rambled questions and completely ignoring her bellows demanding she stop and leave. The girl only stopped walking further into their house when Sochi steps into her path and levels his gun on her.

She can't tell what the girl is feeling at that moment, as she stares at her back watching as Luffy starts to freak out at her side followed by the rest of her group, but Dadan knows that even though she is a bandit and has done some pretty terrible things to a lot of people both on Dawn and on the neighboring islands but she does have a limit, a line drawn in the sand that even she won't cross and pointed a loaded weapon at a child with the plans to fire it - Sochi's finger is on the trigger, shaking with hesitation but still there - on said child.

Whatever she was going to tell Sochi at that moment to get him to stop dies halfway through her throat as she watches the girl, When she has to remember her name is When as strange as it is, raise a hand that should have been tanned but is now shiny and black up to her elbow and gently wrap her fingers around the barrel of the rifle.

There is a sound, a mixture between a crunch and a groan, as her grip goes from light to what would have been white knuckled had her skin not been black at that moment as the rifle barrel crumples in her grip, the indent of her grip folding the end of the barrel in making it unusable now as they all stand in silence watching as When turns back around to face them, eyes still dead and emotionless.

'I'm staying here." He voice is as dead sounding as her eyes look. "Anyone have any problems with that now? No, good." She turns back on her heel, "Oh, and the name's Wren. Foley Wren, don't forget it." she doesn't even turn her head to look at them before disappearing around the corner to the back bedroom where Luffy and Ace share a room, leaving a stunned group of bandits behind her as Luffy still chatters away happily at her side none the wiser as to the monster that walks beside him wearing the face of a little red haired girl.

Just where the Hell had this girl come from?

* * *

Wren had just been able to convince Luffy once they got back to the bandit's hut to wash up and that had given her a heart attack in itself.

She knew that sea water drained devil fruit users of their energy but hadn't expected Luffy to become deadweight the moment he settled into the bathtub with her that being another headache as she had tried to explain to him just why boys and girls shouldn't be naked in a tub together and wasn't one hundred percent sure he still fully understood why but that was discussion for another day.

That had confused the crap out of her, there was no sea water in their tub water that she could tell as there was neither smell of sea water nor the distinct taste, and left her questioning just what does and doesn't affect devil fruit users

Strategically washing herself in such a way that never touched the blood on her face, Wren spent half of the bath trying to clean Luffy as the boy made a game of avoiding Wren's attempts to wash his hair and the other half trying to make sure he never sank to the bottom of the shallow - but still deep enough - tub each time he was drained of energy.

At supper Wren had kept to herself, giving Luffy the odd verbal response as he chattered away at her side, only half paying attention to what he was going on about while trying to resist the urge to scratch at the dried blood still on her face all while trying to pick out Ace from all the bodies but unable to find him.

She had gotten some joy from the uncomfortable looks the bandits kept sending her whenever she met their eyes. Whether it was it from the blood still coating her face or from her squishing the barrel of that rifle she would probably never know but both answers pleased her.

After leading her to the back bedrooms Luffy had decreed that she would be sharing his bed with her, the other one in the small room to her was obviously Ace's but never mentioned it to Luffy because she didn't need him asking how she knew the other boy's name without knowing that there was another kid here.

The bedroom was nowhere near as nice as the one she had back on Volca. There was no real signs that kids stayed here; no toys no books, no drawing, nothing at all. There is no personal touch from either boy who lives here and with Luffy she could argue that he hasn't been there long - however long that it has even been - but from what she could remember of Ace's story he had lived here for most if not all of his life but it was clear from the lack of evidence of him even being there the other boy didn't consider this place his home.

He dragged his mattress, really more of just an old flat pillow, over to lay beside what she assumed was Ace's and, without giving Wren anytime, wrapped his arms around her like an octopus. Luffy was out like the light the moment his head hit the pillow, a snot bubble growing and shrinking with each inhale and exhale in time with his distended stomach.

Wren was surprised his stomach didn't literally explode from how full it was after Luffy had eaten his own share of supper and half of everyone else's, except for hers because she knew about his wandering hands and had made sure to keep an eye on them, unbeknownst to them. Must have been part of his devil fruit abilities.

While Luffy snored away right beside her ear, Wren laid awake splitting her time staring at the ceiling counting the wooden boards that made up the ceiling and watching as the moon slowly crept across the window pane - the only source of light in the room after the bandits had finally gone to bed themselves and shut off all the lights throughout the hut.

She had felt every second creep by, each time she tried to close her eyes and fall asleep her mind jolting itself awake eventually accepting the fact that she would not be getting a good night's rest.

For now she and Luffy were small enough to share the bed but that wouldn't last long so that would be something she would need to get soon and _not_ from the bandits if they only gave Luffy and Ace used pillows for beds.

Sure they were all kids know, with two thirds of them having never gone through puberty before, but kids grew up and became hormonal teenagers before becoming adults no matter how much they wanted to stay kids.

Clothes would also be something she would need to deal with but luckily she and Luffy were about the same size for now and she would bet dollars to donuts that he wouldn't mind sharing. She also wasn't above stealing from Ace even if he threw a hissy fit about it.

It was well past midnight when she untangled herself from Luffy's octopus arms, the boy sprawling out like a starfish once she stood up, and wiped her palms over her tired eyes still unable to convince her body to shut down for the night.

She pads over to her backpack, digging around and trying to create as little noise as possible so she doesn't unintentionally wake Luffy, she'd eat her own shoe if the kid woke up hearing her rummaging around over his snores, and pulling out her tattered journal before slowly and carefully leaving the room and heading back to the main area of the hut.

Wren stops only once in the bathroom, flicking on the light and groaning as it assaults her tired eyes but forcing herself to adjust as she grabs a random face cloth from the closest and wetting it in the sink.

It's only then that she finally sees what the bandits have had staring in their face all day.

She thought that is was only a small bit of wolf blood that landed on her face, a few clumps dotted around her eyes and forehead, not the multiple dots and lines splatter crossed her face. No wonder her face had been itchy from the fluids drying. There was even a thicker line that had gone uninterrupted straight from her left cheek, across the bridge of her nose, and stopping on her right cheek.

War paint. It all looked like war paint from The Before if one ignored or didn't know that her face was covered in wolf blood.

As gross as Charlotte would have found having her face covered in wolf blood, Wren couldn't help but think she looked fierce like a warrior princess from some of the fairytales her mother used to read or make up for her.

Wiping away the speckles and large clumps, Wren hesitated on wiping away the long line bisecting her face, a memory nagging in her mind from her time as Charlotte thinking that it reminded her if something. A bird, something having to do with a bird and a city oppressed.

Shaking her head, Wren quickly wiped the remained of the blood away, throwing the now dirty face cloth in the garbage and shutting off the light to the bathroom before continuing on to the main area of the hut.

Carefully stepping around the sprawled out bodies of numerous bandits, the stench of alcohol quite clear in the air and maybe a few months before would have been overpowering to her senses but she had eventually became dull to it after living through numerous parties on her papa's ship, Wren finds a half broken chair empty of any drunken bandit and drags it to an empty spot in front of the still roaring fire.

Not exactly safe to have a fire still going and everyone old enough to deal with it dead sleep but it's not her problem if the hut catches on fire.

If she just focused on the single burning log, pushing the sounds of the snoring bandits into the recesses of her mind, letting the slight bit of heat it pumped out wash over her and let her imagination take over, Wren could picture herself back on Volca with her mama on one of the many nights the elder Foley took the both of them camping in the nearby forest.

A loud snort pulls her from her thoughts, a look of annoyance passing over her face before Wren lets out a short huff peeling open her notebook to look over her notes from what seemed like ages ago in the dim light of the fireplace.

There was claiming to remember events and only half-heartedly writing them down and there was actually integrating herself into the story, becoming a part of events.

The literal difference between life and death for some people if she had her way in rigging the odds.

She needed a game plan, a plan of attack, a grand scheme, a ten year plan, a-

-well, they were only so many ways to reword what she was going for but the intent was still there.

She was almost embarrassed by the notes she had written when she was younger, the names she used for the Strawhat crew seeming so childish even for a child, and flipped to the first available blank page to begin re-writing her own notes.

The notes she has about everything that happens prior to entering the Grand Line can be tossed aside, they were good when she was younger but now they are unimportant and have no real reason for being there as everything before the Grand Line was what one could call world building, letting everyone in The Before see who the main cast would be and how they all met.

Everything after entering the Grand Line was the most important parts.

Alabasta was one of the very first stops with the princess, Vivi, Baroque Works and Crocodile. There was a bomb involved and phonglyphs as well, and Robin joined the crew there.

Ace was there as well but she shoved those feelings aside to focus on the next event.

The legendary and mythical Skypiea and the would-be God. She would need to see about getting some shoes with rubber soles since most shoes were made with wooden soles with fabric covering them and she remembered that there was a man who used electric attacks.

Rubber conducts electricity so rubber soled shoes were a must before going there.

She could feel some rage build up in her and it took all her willpower to not pull out her hair when she remembered that this was the place and the first time any of the Strawhat crew would meet possibly the most dangerous man in the world.

Marshall D. Teach.

Wren almost snapped her pencil in two from the white knuckled grip she had on it as she stared down at the name she had just written and it wasn't until a few minutes had past that she could continue writing anything else, with a heavier hand from the still evident anger coursing through her.

Then there was the whole Water 7 debacle and something to do with Robin wanting to die. There they would lose the Merry but gain Franky and the Sunny. Also she was pretty sure that Garp was there for some reason and wouldn't the crew's reactions be even funnier in person this time.

Brooke was the next on the list and he was in the Florian Triangle unable to leave for some reason dealing with his shadow and Gekko Moria.

Sabaody was where everything went to Hell.

She needed to make sure that all the i's were dotted and all the t's crossed by the time they hit Sabaody. Every member of the Strawhat crew had to be able to use one if not two types of Haki, they just had to if they even wanted a chance at surviving everything that happened there, from the numerous pirates to avoiding getting put in the auction houses but above all else there was also Kuma.

They had to be ready to survive Kuma.

Because after Kuma came the war and maybe having extra hands on deck could be the difference between life and death for many people involved.

Wren shut her notebook, staring off into the fire.

The War of the Best flipped the world on its head and Wren was going to make sure that it flipped in favour of the pirates no matter what it took.

* * *

It seemed like she had just settled back down beside Luffy when said boy was jumping on her chest to wake up, the sun streaming in through the window illuminating the room with its rays.

Pinching her eyes closed to try and ward off the light and pretend it most definitely was not morning and she could go back to sleep, Luffy chose that moment to land heavily on her chest forcing a wheezing breath from her lungs and for it to feel like her eyes popped out of their sockets as they flew open and Wren's body folded in on itself slightly.

There was no going back to sleep after that rude awakening.

She could hear faintly the sounds of the bandits beginning to stir themselves, grumbles about loud noises and the light being too bright making up a majority of the muffed complaints.

Turning her head to look in the direction of where Ace's own bed had been during the night, when she had crawled back into bed with Luffy Ace's had been empty but she figured it couldn't have been that late even if her internal clock was screaming at her that it was almost morning, and even now it was obvious that the son of the pirate king never came back at all during the night.

She hoped nothing nefarious happened to him, that her even being on the island hadn't caused an unforeseen ripple.

Gently, more like a hard shove, pushing Luffy off her chest so she could fully sit up, Wren couldn't help but spy a handful of clothing shoved into a basket like object.

They didn't look to small and, looking down to play with the ends of her cropped short shirt, seeing as she only had the clothes on her back Wren was not going to be picky when it came to 'borrowing' new clothing.

She could only help that the clothes weren't stale or smelly, if there was one thing she couldn't stand it was stale and disgustingly smelly clothes.

"Those are Ace's." Luffy's head tilts to the side as Wren quickly pulls out a burnt orange shirt from the pile and throws it on over top of the one she's wearing, maneuvering to pull the bottom shirt out without taking off the top layer. "Why are you putting his clothes on?"

She knows Luffy wouldn't understand a thing about modesty but she does so this is the closest she will get to changing in front of him for her own sake.

At least this was Ace's shirt, so it ended lower on her body even now, because she wasn't sure if one of Luffy's would fit her given that she was older And now she could just see the barest hint of skin between the end of his shirt and beginning of his shorts, a sign he was out growing his own clothes. The one she was pulling off had to have been one that Makino bought earlier in hopes of Luffy growing into it.

"Because," she threw the now old shirt across the room to create a new pile of clothing, "mine was dirty." Yeah, that was as good an excuse as any while Luffy still had no concept of privacy.

He just seemed to take it with that large dopey smile before nodding as if her halfhearted answer was truly good enough, and maybe in his mind Wren could understand it was, before grabbing her hand and all but dragging her back out into the main room, luckily she was able to grab one of her smaller daggers and stuff it down the back of her pants with her free hand, where the bandits were starting to wake up and stumbling around like drunk elephants.

That was where Wren for her first official and in person looks at the boy who would grow to become the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.

The boy sitting amongst the numerous lumbering bandits, unaffected by their stumbling steps and being a massive contradiction of fitting into the group while also sticking out like a sore thumb, was nothing like the man Wren knew he would grow to be.

He was just so...

So...

So...

Unimpressive.

Even from where she was standing in the doorway a handful of meters away from the older boy, she could still see the baby fat lining his face giving him a rounded look. His arms were twig thin, nothing like the trunks of muscles they would be when he got older. Not to mention the dirty bandages around both elbows and the gauze patch tacked onto his cheek.

He looked nothing like what Wren had been expecting and honestly, she hadn't known truly what she should have expected but it definitely wasn't what she got.

She locked eyes with Ace, steel grey meeting seafoam green, watching as he flinched at her gaze - something ninety-nine percent of the population she met did with only Luffy and Makino having no outward reaction - before steeling himself and eyeing her up. She can tell the exact moment he recognizes the shirt she is wearing as the scowl on his face deepens and he pointedly looks away from her.

A reaction a child would have to something they disliked but not matching up to her preconceived idea of him, or the man he would grow up to be.

"Hey!" Luffy all but yells into her ear and Wren has to resist the urge to push the raven haired boy away too harshly. "That's Ace! We should go sit by Ace so we can all be friends and go on adventures and-" Wren quickly shoved a fork full of plain white rice into Luffy's open mouth.

"How about," she negotiated calmly understanding Ace's tense body language and deep scowl better than the other boy even from the other side of the room, "just you and I eat together first then you can introduce me to Ace." Because it was going to happen sooner or later and the other boy might be more receiving if he could eat his own breakfast in relative peace.

That, and Wren didn't feel like dealing with an angry kid on an empty stomach and a lack of sleep.

Luffy at least agreed with that, Wren letting her tense shoulders drop at avoiding a fight so early in the morning, and grabbed her hand to lead her to a semi-cleared area by the large island kitchen where the bandits had, thankfully, left clean and alone.

As she slowly ate, skillfully slapping Luffy's wandering hands away from her breakfast; Wren couldn't help but notice an underlying rhythm in all the chaos.

About ninety nine percent of the bandits were suffering from hangovers and half drunkenly stumbling around but doing it in such a way that they only ever brushed arms against each other and even in such a way that had them spinning around like drunk ballerinas.

The only sober, or at least most sober, bandit was holding a simple coffee pot that might as well have been the Holy Grail from the way the other hungover bandits flocked to it and every time the bandit, a middle aged man of average everything, had his back to her he either grabbed a newly filled coffee pot or someone handed it to him because there was no way the five seconds hi back was to Wren he had time to brew a new pot.

It was actually kind of mesmerizing how he didn't get dizzy from all the spinning around in a circle he was doing, even Wren knew she would have felt sick after doing half of the revolutions he was doing.

So much in fact that Wren never registered Luffy finishing his breakfast plus the last half of her own until he was pulling Wren up off the ground with a surprising amount of strength for one so young and following after something.

That something turned out to be a someone, a someone named Ace.

"HEY ACE!" Luffy screamed out giving Wren no warning to cover her ears since the boy could yell quite loudly. "WAIT FOR US!" Wren would have face planted into the ground if it hadn't been for Luffy's grip on her hand yanking her along behind him and forcing her to find her footing as he leaped over a fallen tree and ran around boulders bigger than the bandit's hut as he chased after the small glimpses of orange that signified Ace was still in front of them.

After getting smacked with a low hanging branch for the umpteenth time, Wren was glad when she and Luffy burst into a clearing with one side leading up a hill.

Instead of huffing out a breath like she wanted Wren chose to instead glare at the back of Luffy's head for only a moment before digging a hand through her hair to pull out the three twigs that had gotten tangled during the mad dash through the woods.

"ACE!" Luffy hollered again letting go of Wren's hand to wave his own above his head to get the older boys attention.

Wren took that moment to pause from digging out the last annoying twig to look up the hill at the orange clad older boy noting how he seemed to have a permanent scowl etched on his face, an expression nowhere near what Wren could remember from the Before with the happy go lucky older brother figure to Luffy.

"COME MEET OUR NEW SISTER!" Wren didn't know whether to be shocked or annoyed at Luffy's proclamation. From previous knowledge Wren knew that Luffy thought of his crew as his extended family and she knew that him declaring her nakama and her agreeing to join his crew basically made her family in his eyes but it a whole other step to declare her Ace's sister and in return declare Ace her brother.

Ace clearly had very strong opposing opinions to Luffy's declaration if his next actions were anything to go off of.

If it was possible at such an age, Ace's scowl got deeper and even from where she was standing at the bottom of the sparsely tree covered hill Wren could see his grip get tighter on the battered metal pipe in his hand.

Wren would give credit where credit was due, Ace was quite strong for a child of about nine or ten as he was able to strike down a wide trunked tree beside him with a single hit from his pipe all without breaking said pipe which really should have either been in two pieces or one very bent one in Wren's mind.

It took a few moments, quite precious ones at that, for Wren's mind to finally catch up to just what was happening in front of her and by the time she was making a motion to turn and run away from the trunk that was rolling down the hill towards both her and Luffy and gaining speed with every passing moment the younger boy had rooted himself to the ground beneath his feet with both hands at either side of his head and screaming at the top of his lungs instead of doing something useful in the moment like running away from the tree.

"Luffy, run!" But Wren didn't think said boy could hear her yelling at him over the sound of his own screams of terror so with a shake of her head in aggravation at Luffy's lack of a light response to danger she grabbed the younger boy and started running in the direction the trunk was going but also at a slight angle to escape the danger zone that was the path directly in front of where the tree was rolling.

The trunk kept getting closer and closer closercloserclosercloSERCLOSERCLOSERTHERE-

There was a break in the trees that Wren dove for dragging Luffy behind her and landing with a great huff of breath from the impact of landing on the ground on her stomach and Luffy landing half on her half on the ground himself.

Hearing her heartbeat in her own ears, the sound of her blood pumping through her veins, Wren could safely say that neither in this life nor in her past life in the Before as Charlotte had she ever been so scared.

And...and...and...

And she was mad.

Gripping a fist full of dirt, twigs and dead grass Wren grit her teeth together in a snarl.

Forget everything she knew of Ace from the Before, Charlotte was clearly out of her mind if she thought this...this. This BRAT was worth saving for any reason. How Luffy ever got that brat of a child to see him as his brother escapes her and she can't even begin to understand just why he even chases after the older boy if this was how he treated people around him.

Clearly this was not the first time he had knocked over a tree in an attempt to kill someone or something if it only took him one hit with the pipe, that meant he knew just how hard to hit the tree to have it fall over and roll down the hill.

"Awe." Luffy whined, flipping himself onto his back to stare up at the sky but didn't remove himself from Wren's back as the girl in question slowly released her death grip on the handful of forest debris. "I guess Ace doesn't want to play today." Luffy's voice is dejected before perking back up again. "We can try again tomorrow I know tomorrow he'll want to play with us because now there's three of us and we can do so much more with three people and-"

"How about," Wren interrupted loudly while pushing herself up off the ground and pushing Luffy off her back, "we go get some food instead." That seemed like a better idea to Wren instead of chasing after Ace all afternoon.

"MEAT!" Luffy through his hands into the air above him and began chanting. "MEAT! MEAT! MEAT! Come on When, meat!" He popped up like a gopher out of a whole and without waiting for Wren to pick herself up had already grabbed her arm and began dragging her into the woods behind him.

"Luffy - hey, wait!"

* * *

They had caught a snake.

Well, Wren caught a snake to be more precise after Luffy had unintentionally stepped onto its head while they went looking for boars because, in Luffy's own words; "he knew where the best meat was."

And seeing as Wren had no idea about the layout of the forest besides what she had been able to see the odd moments when the two of them stopped for a break and she was able to sneakily use her Observation Haki to try and get a general idea of where they were in relation to where they had been, she had to rely on Luffy's knowledge of the forest.

What little knowledge that was at the end of the day.

Wren, out of the two of them, had the most knowledge about surviving off the land, having both been taught by her mama and having some of Charlotte's memories of going hunting with her own family and luckily out of the two women in the single body Charlotte at least had some knowledge about how to skin and cook a snake since there were none of Volca or at least Wren had never encounters any on Volca.

The only reason why they had even encountered the reptile was because it had a very interesting adaptation that allowed it to change the colour of its skin to camouflage itself into the ground around it, much like a chameleon from the Before. And it was because of that ability mixed with Luffy's uncanny luck to get into heaps of trouble that they were sitting around a small fire as Wren slowly and methodically went about skinning the snake that was about double the size of her.

If all went well and she didn't mess up the skinning she could always tan the hide and sell it to make some money to buy herself a new shirt.

It wasn't the easiest thing having to guy the giant creature with Luffy dancing and chanting around her but Wren was able to toss the mass of innards far enough into the woods around them that she felt safe enough to attempt to start cooking the meat.

That was until the meat immediately caught fire and proceeded to almost catch the rest of the forest around them on fire too.

Covered in ash and completely out of breath after attempting and successfully putting the almost forest fire Wren shared a look with Luffy before both children began to laugh, flopping back on the forest floor to look up at the pink changing sky above them.

Charlotte had never been a bad cook, she had taken after her own mother and while the older woman would have loved for her daughter to have been a chef she also respected that the younger girl knew what her dreams were. It was a shame that the ability to cook hadn't been passed on to Wren.

The girl in question frowned slightly, a small memory or when she had still been on Volca coming to the surface of her and her mama cooking in the kitchen, what it was they were cooking she couldn't for the life of her remember, when a series of unfortunate events had occurred and nearly caught the kitchen on fire.

'Just like your father. Can't be trusted to cook without something going wrong.' Her mama had remarked with that sly smile of hers and at the time Wren had loved the comparison to her papa believing it to be something that reaffirmed her connection to one of the most powerful people to sail the four seas in this great age.

Now though, it was just something else she had to remind her that her papa had abandoned her on this island with no family or friends.

"Come on Luffy," Wren sat back up dusting off the back of her pants as best she could, "let's head back. Maybe they'll have supper for us at Dadan's." She allowed herself to be dragged along behind Luffy, pulling her farther away from the evidence that she was just like her papa in some ways.

And Wren was quite content with that.

* * *

A/N:

Sorry about the late update, but with the easrly one last month I think I'm breaking even there.

So, Ace and Wren have finally met and neither like each other. And trust me, they aren't going to like each other for a good while.

Please remember to comment as that helps give me motivation to continue writing and if I have no interest in this story then I will not continue it.


	9. Dirty Paws (Of Monsters and Men)

To Wren it seemed like the sun never completely set in the evening and the days began to stretch as far as they could get which was a big change to Wren from her days back on Volca.

At the height of summer back on Volca, the sun might have been out for three quarters to four fifths of the day but on Dawn Island it seemed to her the sun stated out for five sixths of the day and never truly completely dropped below the horizon.

It took a little over what she believe two weeks before she had been able to have a decent nights sleep and in that time she had only caught glimpses of Ace in the morning at breakfast before he left and Luffy took off after him dragging Wren behind him until they inevitably lost track, Luffy lost track to be exact because Wren could tell where Ace was for a good long distance with her Observation Haki but didn't bother telling Luffy, and at night before the sandman took them all.

And Wren was quite content with that being all she saw of Ace the little brat.

Her attitude towards Ace wasn't helped by the unbearable heat that covered the island. Back on Volca the summers would be mild, shorts and t shirt weather with that but of wind to keep cool, but on Dawn Island it was constantly a muggy heat and Wren could feel the sweat start to form on her back the moment she sat up from the lukewarm tub water.

Wren could safely say she hated the heat with a fiery passion and much preferred the crisp and moderate temperatures of her home island.

But she was here now and for an unspecified amount of time before she either set out on the seas with Luffy or her papa decided to come back to pick her up, so she had to deal with it as much as it pained her.

And where Wren was all too happy to ignore Ace for the rest of her time on the island, Luffy was near perfectly opposite of her choosing to chase after Ace every day without fail.

If Ace was an immovable and stubborn object then Luffy was the unstoppable force of nature unleashed upon him. And seeing as there was no way to change either boys minds about the other, Wren knew from her memories of the Before that Ace would eventually give in, somehow, so it was better to try and speed that process along no matter how much the older boy annoyed her.

So that was how she found herself carefully removing the remaining membrane off exposed hide from the rabbit she had hunted, skinned, cured with salt and left to soak in a barrel of salt water a few days prior while Luffy had been off searching for a blue flower with red thorns that Wren told him she wanted. Not that she hated being around the younger boy but when hunting animals you needed patience and silence, something Luffy did not seem to have any or enough of for hunting.

The cured rabbit skin was her first attempt as Wren to try and create a decent pelt that Charlotte had some memory of from her own family and a way for Wren to make a few beris on the side to buy new clothes for herself and some sweets for Luffy and Ace.

Granted, Wren would not give Ace the sweets herself but manipulate Luffy into sharing his with Ace to make the older boy at least friendlier for a short while to the future King of the Pirates. Might speed so things up if all went well and she could get to work training both boys to use Haki before they even hit their teens.

If all went well with the rabbit pelt she was working on, Wren would try to find a fox to work on next and try to work her way steadily up to a tiger like the one Ace had brought back to the bandits hut a few night back. The amount of money she could get from a perfect tiger pelt would probably set herself and Luffy up pretty well for a little while.

"When!" Luffy's voice bellowed through the forest causing an eruption of cawing as a murder of crows took off from the canopy of trees nearby.

For the life of her, Wren couldn't figure out just where Luffy had picked up on calling her 'When'. She knew he had done it when he introduced her to the bandits and she had corrected him once they were out of ear shot but, as evidenced by his hollering, he seemed to keep calling her that. There were worst things in the world to be called, so Wren would deal with it now and maybe in a little while Luffy would grow out of it.

She could only hope.

"Wren - ohmp." Luffy barreled into the clearing, tripping over a large root half hidden by dead fall, Wren was carefully rolling her rabbit pelt up to stuff into the once crisp and clean but now mud crusted backpack. He popped up, none the worse for wear with that big smile on his face as he a fixed his - her papa's - straw hat back on his head.

It wasn't fair in her mind; she was the true born child of Red-Haired Shanks not Luffy, not the son of the Revolutionary Dragon and grandson of Garp the Fist. That hat should have been her birthright, her papa should have entrusted it to her not some kid who couldn't tell when someone was trying to kill him but her, the girl trying to change the world for the better.

That was just another sign in her mind that her father couldn't wait to be rid of her, not only did he not say goodbye and left her in the middle of the night on a strange island he also left nothing for her to remember him by expect for the few memories she had of him spending time with her.

"Are you okay, When?" Luffy's voice broke through her thoughts and Wren had to rapidly blink her eyes to rid them of the sudden feeling of dryness, like she hadn't blinked for a long time. And maybe she hadn't if Luffy's questioning expression was anything to go off of.

She looked down at her hands, slowly releasing the white knuckled grip she had on her pelt, biting the inside of her cheek as small droplets of blood welled up on the skin of her palm where her nails had dig in from her grip. "I'm fine Luffy." She shot him a small smirk to reassure him and hide any evidence that she was jealous, which she was not and would deny to the end of days. "Just," she hoped he didn't notice or think her pause here as suspicious. "Thinking. What's up?" She zipped up her bag after carefully placing the rabbit pelt at the bottom and attaching both daggers at her hips as she stood up to her full height.

That seemed to be the right thing to say to him as Luffy's face lit up and he all but bounced in place at her side, Wren's critical gaze eyeing how one of the stings his sandals was barely holding onto the wooden base.

That would need to be replaced with money she didn't have at the moment because it was obvious that Dadan and her bandits had no intention of buying clothes for any of the three kids living under their roof and who knew how long it would be until they saw Makino again.

"-check it out?"

"Huh?" Wren clued back into the world around her to see Luffy standing in front of her with his hands clasped together and a pleading look in his big brown innocent eyes, his big brown innocent puppy dog eyes and how could she say not agree to whatever it was he wanted. "Sure kid." She hiked her backpack over her shoulders before being dragged along behind Luffy as he took off in a sprint towards the west side of the island.

It had only taken a few times of Wren getting literally dragged along like a rag doll swing through the air as Luffy, the deceivingly strong and fast kid for his age and size, would take off in some direction holding on to her before Wren had finally put her foot down. Sure on the outside she was willing to bet money it looked hilarious but being in the middle of it, she could firmly state it was not fun.

What Wren expected to see, what she expected to have fully captured Luffy's attention so much he just had to show her, was an animal of sorts that he wanted her to hunt down for its meat as he done at least five times previous or even show her some new cliff face he found that, in his mind, had the design of a face carved from water erosion even if all Wren could see was hoodoos and agreed with him just cause.

It was that which Wren expected to be sighted with, even preparing herself to attempt to keep an open mind and see this face in the cliff he claimed to see because they were making just a bit too much noise for him to have found an animal he wanted to eat, that had been a chore trying to instill in Luffy's mind that if he wanted her to hunt an animal for him they had to be silent.

She hadn't expected what she got though.

Breaking through the tree line, she was momentarily blinded from the sun...except that was wrong, it wasn't the sun that blinded her it was the mixture of smoke and dust in the air that slowly moved to the north to reveal a large valley below the hill she and Luffy were standing on the edge of.

A large valley covered and piled high with trash.

Charlotte had gone with her family many times when doing renovations on the various houses they had over the years to the local dumps each city or town the lived in had. Dumps were never a pretty sight to begin with but the people who worked there did their best to keep it organized and 'clean', keep it all controlled and make sure that every item left behind where placed in the right area. An apt description of organized chaos.

Whereas the sight revealed by the slight breeze was just chaos.

It was smog, sat heavy in the air like a thick fog in the lower valley, that did nothing to cover the distinct scent of rot and garbage and Wren had to cover her mouth and nose with her arm to hold back her gags as her seafoam coloured eyes slowly trailed over the enormous amount of garbage sitting high then even the thick smog layer.

There was a giant wheel, why someone made one the size of a house Wren couldn't tell, being held up by what looked to be a pile of washers and dryers when the wind blew the right way and a person could see under the smog, trusses galore from what looked like run-down buildings, bags and bags of garbage containing who knew what, but a of fabric caught on sharp angles blowing in the wind and sometime straight off of what they were caught on, a dying neon sign cut through with a venomous green glare the words flickering to spell out The Muddy Rudder, half a house was in the mix as well with its roof half caved in with large stones. Among it all, there was movement, silhouetted figures among all the trash.

Wren blinked.

Was there something alive in all that garbage?

 _How_ could something be alive in all that garbage?

She could barely stand the stench of it from where she was standing even now; she couldn't even imagine _living_ in the middle of it all.

There. Just past the smog and the light reflected off any half clean surface amount the trash, sits high a large and thick stone wall separating the trash from what looks to be a spotless and bright kingdom much like the ones described in the fairytales her mama used to read when she was younger. In what looked to be the middle even stood a large castle with towers extending well into the sky.

Wren could almost picture long blonde hair cascading down one of those towers or even a live dragon landing on the roof of one, warning any knights that might try to rescue the princess within to stay back.

It was so oblivious where all the trash a kingdom that size might generate goes but it does surprise Wren that it is so close the walls separating the trash from the people within the walls.

Maybe just some bad planning?

But how did Luffy even find this place to begin with?

"Isn't it amazing!" Luffy gushed from her side as Wren soared him a glance from the corner of her eyes, watching as his face lit up with every word and he threw his arms away up in the air above him accidentally activating his devil fruit abilities. "There must be so much treasure in there! No wonder Ace must come here lots."

Ah, that explains how Luffy knew where this place was, he followed Ace here during his time away from her today and came back to show her himself. That also practically explained where Ace went some days but didn't explain the days when Wren could feel him in a different part of the forest with some other presence.

"It's...something." Wren hummed, giving herself a nod internally and digging the toe of her left foot into the soft ground below her. As disgusting as the place is, people _do_ live within the piles of trash making a living for themselves and Wren won't stand by knowing that the nobles of the island will burn this place to the ground in the coming years. This was home to some, possibly even many, and the rich and powerful of the island had no right in burning the eye sore to the ground.

"Can we go exploring!" Luffy asked from her side pulling Wren's narrowed gaze away from the trash heap some called home.

Fingering the dagger on her right hip, Wren brought her left thumb up to her mouth to gently bite it as she went over the pros and cons between either letting Luffy go down there on his own or going down there with him.

Seeing as sooner or later one or both of them would have ended up down there around the haze of smog and milling about around the people who lived there, it was beneficial to tackle this with numbers even if there was not much two pre-teens could do against possible crazed adults.

"It can be our first adventure as captain and first mate." Wren removed her thumb from her teeth as Luffy let out a cheer. "BUT," she interrupted grabbing the back of his shirt before he could run away, "we have to stick together." It was a reasonable enough request, neither of them knew just what was down in the depths of the valley under all that smog.

Luckily Luffy was agreeable to Wren's simple clause, grabbing her hand and swinging their conjoined hands back and forth as they found a safe way down the overlooking hill into the valley below, well as Wren found them a safe way down the hill as Luffy wanted to take the shortest path which was straight over the sharp edge in front of them.

The view was no better above the smog layer then what it was below it. In fact, Wren partially regretted even agreeing to go with Luffy into the trash heap, the smell of rotten eggs assaulting her nose the closer they got causing her to have to stifle her gag reflex. Not to mention in spots her shoe cover feet would sink into the grey muck and make the most disgusting of noises as she pulled them out.

Yet none of this even fazed Luffy.

Even among all muck and garbage, people had found a way to survive, make homes for themselves and start families if the sight of the shoddy houses standing at a lean with the occasional child running in and out of their doors wearing what was little more than rags barely covering their bodies and their laughs shocked Wren as she couldn't picture any reason to find joy in a place like this with strangers eyeing her and Luffy as they walked among them.

Tightening her white knuckle grip on the hilt of one of her daggers to the point she could feel the Armament Haki slowly creeping up her hand and wrist, shooting back her own sharp glare at those that she believed looked at the two of them wrong, vowing to herself that Luffy would not be coming here without her until she had put the fear of God, or whatever deity controlled this world, into those that thought the two of them as easy marks.

Luffy stopped suddenly tearing most of Wren's attention to him while also allowing just the barest hint of her full Observation Haki that she could use while focusing on other things, just enough that she could sense a circle roughly ten meters in diameters around them, watching as his eyebrows furrowed, head tilted, and he tried to cross his arms but had difficulty doing it as Wren refused to let his hand go.

Knowing him, it would just take her letting go of his hand, and he would find trouble within seconds.

It was kind of his super power.

"What's that?" He lifted their conjoined hands and pointed one of his skinny fingers a head of them to the distance ground of people in a clearing, a makeshift town square of Wren had to guess, standing all in a circle cheering on whatever was in the middle of them all.

Cocking her own head slightly, Wren couldn't even begin to guess just what was going on other there; a dance off? a rap battle? a busker performance? or something else entirely.

"Don't know." She hummed quietly, brows furrowed slightly as a loud cheer went up from the group only echoing across the clearing in a low volume from just how far away the group was, watching as some people stormed away only to be replaced by others just as quickly. "Woah, hey, Luffy." Wren protested as Luffy started to drag the two of them towards the group with no care to the looks people were shooting them, pushing his way through with no tact until the two of them stood on the edge of the group overlooking a white circle drawn in the ground with blood dotted all around on the ground with two chickens, one a pitch black and the other a rusty brown colour, attacking each other and squawking at each other barely heard over the roar of the crowd.

Cock fighting, there was an actual cock fighting ring in the middle of the square and there was no one stopping it.

From what memories of cock fighting Charlotte had, and there were not many that Wren could recall, cock fighting was illegal where she had lived and one only ever heard of the blood sport when a police raid had been done on properties or an undercover sting operation was successful.

Here though, in the Grey Terminal, people were actively participating and cheering, or booing, the chicken they were visibly betting on.

Wren took notice from the corner of her eyes as Luffy seemed to feed off the high energy of the crowd around them, all but vibrating with excitement, but she couldn't understand the excitement all the men, because she was seemingly the only woman in the group, were exuding and was in fact a little bored watching the two chickens attack each other.

Maybe it was a guy thing.

Keeping her grip tight on her dagger with the amount of people standing around them, bumping shoulders and almost knocking the two of them into the middle of the makeshift ring she had to release Luffy's hand and take a fist full of the back of his shirt.

"Isn't this amazing!" Luffy whipped his head around the wrong way so his devil fruit abilities activated and make his neck a coil before he whipped his head the correct way around.

Wren gave a small shrug, looking on as a clear winning was decided between the two fighting chickens with the owner or the large black one holding it above his head and the owner of the brown one collected his now quickly dying bird from its sprawled position on the ground.

There was niggling feeling, like the hairs on the back of her neck were standing up, as around her and Luffy people were betting on the next round with the victor of the previous match going up again another chicken, this one a mix of grey and white feathers, seemingly none the wiser to the danger that was nearby.

Her Observation Haki was acting up, responding to danger that she couldn't see even as she whipped her head side to side, her vision blocked by all the bodies around her and Luffy.

Then it happened.

The best way for Wren to describe it was a herd of startled deer as everyone in the audience save for herself and Luffy snapped both their mouths closed so an uneasy silence over took them all and snapped their heads in the direction of the large kingdom wall.

It only took a few seconds, what seemed like a lifetime in the tense atmosphere, before a shout was heard, echoing through the square.

"GUARDS!" A voice cried out from the smog.

The effect was instantaneous.

Like a herd of startled deer, there was a mad rush of bodies trying to grab the money they or the people beside them dropped in the mad scramble, the chickens that had been thrown in the ring, themselves and any belongings that had brought to the match. No one caring if they trampled over anyone, shoved them to the ground, or throwing an elbow in someone's face.

Wren knowing that last one personally as she was one the receiving end of a wild elbow.

And it was in that moment, that split second, which she flinched and brought both of her hands up to her nose in an attempt to alleviate the sudden pain and make sure that it hadn't been broken from the impact.

Luckily, pulling her hands back and wiggling her nose as the pain was just a dull throbbing, it wasn't anything to serious in her mind at the moment but she needed to focus on Luffy to see if he had suffered any injuries in the scattering of the crowd-

-he was gone.

She had lost him in all the madness.

Spinning around in a quick circle, head snapping back and forth, Wren could feel her breathing start to pick up and felt as if her heart was beating out of her chest. Bringing her hands up to take fistfuls of her red hair, she could see black vignetting on the edge of her vision.

She lost him, she literally lost Luffy on their first outing into Grey Terminal and who knows where he had gone or if he had gotten himself into trouble and it would be all her fault if anything happened to him.

She had promised to look after him but in no memories from the Before did Luffy ever come to the heart of Grey Terminal with Ace or Sabo so maybe she had created too big a ripple and this was it for the would be pirate king.

Wren almost didn't register the first closing around her arm, large and littered with scars and calluses, until she was jerked around to face a man with a large dark handlebar mustache, a red scar running down the left side of his face from his forehead and disappearing underneath the uniform that screamed he definitely was not from Grey Terminal with burning brown eyes glaring down at her.

It didn't take a genius for Wren to know this guy meant trouble and so, with as much force as she could muster with a hint of Armament Haki, she slammed the heel of her boot clad foot into the man's own taking the chance to book it from the square when, in that second he reacted to the pain of her probably breaking his toe or even foot, the guard or police officer, she couldn't really tell, let her go.

It didn't matter to her just where she was running as long as she put as much distance between her and the man who grabbed her, and if that meant running deeper into Grey Terminal where word had not spread about the guards coming into the junk pile people called home and people openly stared as she charge past, not caring if they were eyeing her like a piece of meat.

There were only two things on her mind at the moment and that was run and far. And the only thing that shook her from that mind set is when she ran head first into another body.

With her breath coming out in short gasps and feeling as if she was physically shaking even sitting on her butt in the muck, Wren couldn't bring herself to stand back up from, her legs shaking so much she felt like. nothing more than a newborn foal unable to stand on her own feet.

She jerked her head back when a hand was outstretched in front of her face, it taking her a few seconds to identify the stark differences between the hand in front of her face and the one that had grabbed her, this one clearly more feminine and soft looking.

Trailing her gaze up the slim, bare arm, up the slick red clothed shoulder and the pale milky neck with an equally red bow tied daintily around it, plump red lips and looking eyes with a soft emerald gaze, the corners of the feminine almond shaped eyes crinkled to give a friendly and inviting look.

"Hey there, darlin'" The voice was smoky and light, a night and day difference between this woman and Dadan's own grating voice. "You okay there?" The hand that wasn't outstretched towards Wren at the moment carefully tucked a lock of dark brown hair back behind her ears.

Pointedly ignoring the outstretched hand, Wren skittered herself upright, dusting off the back of her stolen - borrowed - pants, turning her body so that her side was caving the red dressed woman who merely sighed at her actions and retracted her manicured hand.

That warm smile was still on the red clad woman's face even as Wren all but spit out her response, "Fine." She didn't trust this woman as far as she could throw her without the added help of Armament Haki.

"Well," she drawled, putting both hands on her hips with a sly half smile, "most kids your age don't come 'round this part-a town." She had an accent that Wren couldn't put but knew from her limited experience that this woman neither came from Volca or Dawn Island. "So, som'thing tells me you didn't come here on purpose. Go on, yah can tell Mama Cherry."

That was possibly the most ridiculous name that Wren had ever heard in her short nine years and that was including Lemonjello who was an actual person, well kid as he was only a year older then Wren herself and nothing more than a huge cry baby, back on Volca.

"I don't trust people who don't give out their real names." A shot in the dark it might have been but Wren was willing to bet that no one would have _actually_ name their child after a fruit, a bird she was willing to concede as she was clear evidence but her mama always had a sick sense of humour to but not a fruit even THAT would be to ridiculous for this world.

"Now, ain't yah just quick as a whip." The woman had the audacity to tap Wren on her nose with a long pale finger. "Name's Roxanne, but most just call me Roxy or Cherry." That smile never disappeared from her lips even as Cherry, or Roxy or whatever her real name was - she had already given out a fake name once and who was to say the second one she had given was just as real as the first - cocked her head to the side and closed her eyes to give off a friendly persona.

But that changed in a split second as those warm emerald eyes went from friendly and inviting to piercing, freezing Wren in place with the sudden and unsuspected change. "Now, how 'bout yah tell me what you're doing on this side-a town." Roxy lent down with both hands on her hips, her face mere more inches away from Wren's own face so that the younger girl could see the flecks of blue among the emerald green. "Or do I need to get the guards involved."

Wren would never admit openly, but she could feel her legs shaking just being under that stare. So she settled for the next best thing, after all what if she did call this woman's bluff and she did end up getting the guards then Wren would be no closer to finding Luffy in this maze. "I was running away from some guards." She halfheartedly mumbled, "Broke up some cock fighting ring that my," - what was Luffy to her? He referred to her as his sister yet never once had she said out loud that he was her brother. Would be easier to explain then saying he was the future king of the pirates and she had made a promise to see his dream become reality, less questions that way too - "brother and I-"

"Wait-shit. They didn't break up the one in the middle of town did they?" Roxy's attitude did a complete one-eighty as her head pulled back from Wren's and the look in her eyes went from piercing to a mild level of concern.

"I think so." Was Wren's hesitant reply as she slowly slid her feet along the ground back in the direction she had come from. The sooner she got away from here and found Luffy, the better.

"Damn it." Roxy whined, tilting her head back to look at the cloudy sky, "I had two hundred beris on Riko winning the whole thing with his chicken." It was clear that she was talking to herself. "That puts me behind on rent this month and Frigo is already up my ass ask about being late last-wait, yah said brother," Roxy's head whipped to pin Wren with a stare. "I only see you, so where's yah brother?"

Nervously rubbing her left arm with the opposite hand, she might have just screwed the whole timeline losing Luffy as she did. "Got separated when the guards showed up." Some wild card she was proving to be, might have just caused the main character's death from her carelessness.

"Well," Roxy's voice pulled Wren out of her self-loathing, "yah got any idea where he would go if he got separated from yah?"

That was a good question, when puffy finally put two and two together and realized that she wasn't by his side just what would his next actions be and where would they take him.

Judging from the lack of buildings being destroyed or people yelling about a kid made of rubber, Wren was confident that he was staying out of relative trouble for now but that could change in the next second as it was Luffy she was talking about.

But maybe?

"Home." The bandits hut, he seemed to have an internal compass always pointing him in the direction of Dadan's place every time they went out together. "He'd go home."

Where Luffy had his internal compass always pointing home, Wren had the exact opposite which was to say she had no such thing and knowing her sense of direction, would only lead her to wall circles around Grey terminal which is why she always marked the trees around Dadan's with a small arrow on the base of the trunk pointed back in the direction of the hut.

That smile was back on Roxy's face, the one that she closed her eyes for, "Well that's good then, ain't it. Just gotta head yah butt home then and everything should be right as rain."

The look on Wren's face must have spoken volumes of Roxy's next statement was anything to go off of.

"Or," she drawled, " yah can come back to my place for a bit. Think I've got a map back there somewhere that you can borrow. If not," she gave a lazy shrug with both shoulders and a closed eye expression, "I could always help yah get home. No skin off my back."

A map could be useful for later, for both Wren trying to find her way around and just in general. The amount of exploring, or 'adventures', she and Luffy could have _without_ _Ace_ could be endless if they got their hands on a map of the island. And it would be good to know where Grey Terminal stood in proximity to Foosha Village, would be nice to know where the village was on the island in general as well.

With no hesitation on her part, and no snide looks of disdain either, Wren accepted Roxy's outstretched hand and followed side by side with the older woman as they walked further into Grey Terminal, and into the unknown.

* * *

A/N:

Wow, that took a lot longer then I thought it would to be completed, but there is good reason for the long delay between this chapter and the last.

I'll sum it up quickly; depression, hating my job, and lack of inspiration.

Good news though; not so depressed, got a new job, and have a bit more inspiration now.

I can't promise that thve new chapter will be out next month at the usual time, but it is in the works now.

Please remember to comment as that helps gives me inspiration and motivation to write.


	10. El Tango De Roxanne (Moulin Rouge)

Roxy's place, as it turned out, was only a short five minute walk from where Wren had barreled into her. A short five minute walk in silence with Wren noting a few of the quizzical looks on a few women's faces - they also had a red ribbon around their necks - as that half smile never disappeared off Roxy's lips.

The happy brown hair and red clad woman with the stern faced red haired, brown clad girl walking hand in hand and side by side, what a pair they made.

It was a small place, the bed only a few feet away from an older stove with a half rusted kettle sitting on a half eaten away potholder, the only remains on the hand for the kettle being two holes. A few articles of clothing where scattered on the floor, and a lone pillow hanging half on a half off the bed that had no frame under it so it was just a mattress sitting on a dark wood floor.

The only thing in the apartment that even looked remotely new and not like a wild animal had decided to use it as a play toy was a brown blanket draped over the only window in the room to help block out the light as there were no curtains hanging there so it was used as a replacement.

"Make yah self at home, my house is your house." The moment Roxy stepped into her apartment, one of her hands was digging out the back hair tie being used to keep her long and thick locks up in a braid so it fell to the middle of her back as she kicked off her high heeled stilettos and lost about four inches in height yet still stood over Wren. "I think I stuffed the map in the closet by the bathroom."

With Roxy's back turned to her and only a mere few feet away, Wren took the chance to close her eyes and block out the rest of the world to try and focus on finding Luffy if he hadn't gone to far out of her Observation Haki range. The only reason she hadn't done so yet was because she didn't want to answer the questions that would arise from Roxy.

Except...there was nothing, no sign of Luffy's aura within her range so that was promising at least that he was no longer in Grey Terminal but also begged the question of just where he had disappeared too. Had he gone back to the bandits or had he gotten lost in the forest?

No, it want good to think of the negatives, he had survived without her being around for a time so he was safe, probably unless he had found Ace and the lid kid was feeling particularly prickly today.

Opening her eyes, Wren shuffled over to the windows, drawing back the blanket curtain to stare out over the dingy city, absentmindedly twisting her fingers in the deceptively soft fabric she was holding, bring it up to rub gently against her cheek.

So soft, it even beat the pelt sitting in the bag on her back. She could wrap herself up the blanket like a cacoon and be so content to just stay there.

"Another one falls victim to the blanket." Wren nearly jumped out of her skin as Roxy planted herself on the wall beside the younger girl, a dopey look on her face as she stared at the red haired girl while one hand fiddled with the collar of a completely different shirt, this one a deep pink colour hanging loose off her frame and exposing one shoulder with the design of a deer grazing. There was a sweet citrus smell in the air around Roxy but Wren just attributed it to the hand rolled cigarette held between the hand not at the collar of her shirt.

"Its soft." Was Wren's simple reply, dropping the fabric from where she had been holding it against her cheeks that gained a red tinge from being caught fondling a literal stranger's curtain. "Is that the map?" She jutted her head, eyeing the price of paper folded under Roxy's arm.

Roxy seemed to get a far away look in her eyes, like she was seeing something else as she looked down at Wren, "Yeah," her voice was soft, "my little sister gave it to me as a birthday present years ago." Her voice trailed off and it was at that moment that Wren's eyes trailed before shooting back to look out the window, her cheeks a deeper red for a completely different reason

What she was wearing could barely constitute as under from the lack of skin it covered yet in no way shape or form did Roxy seem to be bothered by her state of undress around a minor who was not related to her in any way.

Giving an audible cough to break the awkward silence shaking Roxy from her daydream. That dopey smile still stayed on her lips even if the corners of her mouth didn't lift up as high and her eyes weren't as energetic as they had been prior to the blanket.

"The map?" Wren tried again to get Roxy to focus on what the two of them came back to the studio apartment for. The less time she spent in this apartment, no, the less time she spent around this _woman_ the better. With the complete one-eighty her emotions were going who knows what sort of danger Wren could be in just standing a few feet away.

The reaction she got was not what she wanted nor expected as Roxy's eyes lit up and both hands clasped in front of her chest she she crouched down to Wren's level, dropping her still lit cigarette to the floor so Wren had to quickly stamp it out as this situation did not need an apartment fire added to it, "Wait!" Roxy exhaled loudly right in Wren's face and the younger girl scrunched up her shoulders as the noise assaulted her ears, "Yah never even told me yah name!"

That was what she was concerned about now? Not even on their walk to the apartment had Roxy even pondered to ask what Wren's name was and it was only now, when she was moments away from getting the map and getting away from this woman for the rest of her life.

"Leia." Wren knew she had a good poker face when lying, had worked her way through bluffing ninety percent of the Red Force crew during the makeshift games of poker that usually ended up forming at the end of the night after supper. And right now she found the name fitting as she was sending a mental prayer to whoever was listening above they she needed help getting away from the woman with the yo-yo like personality. "Well, if that's all." Wren snat had the paper out from under Roxy's arm, the woman in question only blinking dumbly as if her mind never registered the action.

The quicker Wren could get away from this crazy and bipolar personality half naked woman, the better.

"Wait!" A pale hand, Roxy's, slammed the front door of her apartment shut just as Wren had been able to wrench it open a few inches.

She had been so close to freedom only to have it whisked away from her small hands like sand through a crack.

What she hasn't expected was for that sort fabric she had been fondling to end up hastily folded and placed in her unsuspecting hands.

Looking up, Wren couldn't help but notice the small yet sad smile on Roxy's face. "It's going to waste with me, so I want you to have it." The older woman stepped back allowing Wren to slowly. Carefully since she couldn't predict the other woman's actions. "Just," Roxy started slowly and briefly paused, "come come find me if you ever need anything. Or ask one of the girls with the red ribbons to point you in my direction."

Casting a grimace of a smile, trying to force it to look more pleased, Wren grit out a simple and blunt "Thanks" as she awkwardly shifted the bundle in her arms and shuffled out the door taking off in a dead sprint as soon as the faded and chipped door closed behind her almost dropping the blanket to the ground in her haste.

There was no way she would ever be coming back here or seeking out that woman.

So with a quick glance to the sun just past the midday point in the sky, she shoved the bla blanket into her bag before hiking it up on her shoulders.

She had to find Luffy and make sure he was okay.

* * *

The moon was high the sky by the time Wren shoved open the door to the bandit's hut, silencing all conversation on the inside.

"Wren!" The girl in question let out a tired grunt as she found herself nearly being bowled over from the force of an overzealous Luffy. "I was wondering where you were." She couldn't move her arms as Luffy's elastic octopus like arms had wrapped themselves around the two of them locking the limbs in the place.

"Took the scenic route." She have that as a half hearted answer too tired and hungry to explain every little thing to the younger boy.

The map Roxy had provided barely gave any detail, in fact all of Grey Terminal was excluded from it only showing the kingdom behind the high walls and some of the surround forest, the mountain where the bandits lived being labeled in there also. It was just luck that either Roxy or whoever owned the map before had circled the area where Grey Terminal was and labeled it so it was only a matter of finding one of the lathes numbered gates while dodging every human being she came across and working back from there, sensing familiar auras a few hours later leading her home.

Sensing that Luffy was among them calming her nerves greatly from the frazzled state they had been in since the chicken fighting.

"Where'd you end up kid?" She asked ignoring the bandits that stared at the two of them as she slowly began walking toward their shared bedroom. A shower could happen in the morning, right now she was dead asleep on her feet going off pure will power.

Luffy's head pulled back just far enough that Wren could tell his powers were active as he answered ecstatically with a large grin, "Oh!" His voice was loud, almost too loud for being a foot away from Wren's ears. "I found Ace and followed him before he ran off with another boy."

Sabo, Ace had run off with Sabo.

Things were progressing faster then what Wren was really ready for. It probably wasn't wrong to say that before long they would all be teenagers with their own dreams to follow that would take them separate paths.

Pushing open the door to their room with a huff, Wren froze in the door as standing on the other side with that permanent scowl etched on his freckled face was none other then Ace, his glare and scowl only getting deeper as his mind registered that Wren was wearing yet another of his shirts, a green one this time that clashed with her natural colour scheme less than the orange had from days before and never seemed to suit Ace's own natural colour scheme.

"Ace!" Luffy hollered and quickly detached himself from Wren hopping over to the older boy with stars in his eyes only to be swiftly turned down fro. Whatever he planned on asking. Ace as the older boy turned on his heel, stomped over to his own bed and through his blanket over his head to block out both Luffy and herself.

Fine. Two could play at that game. If he wanted to be childish and ignore them then Wren was all the more happy to play along.

"Come on Luffy." Gripping the strawhat wearing boy by one of his hands, leading him to their shared bedroll unceremoniously dropping her bag and daggers to the ground beside it. "Time for bed." She didn't even wait, flopping down on her back and immediately shutting her eyes, letting out an oomph as Luffy dropped all his weight down on her front and wrapped his arms around her.

She could feel his chin digging into her sternum, could feel his eyes staring her down even in the pitch dark of the room but she chose to play ignorant to it pretending to be dead asleep.

As round as Luffy's face was it was quite deceiving to how boney it was but with each second that past Wren could feel every slight movement it made as it was clear he wasn't falling asleep anytime soon until he got whatever was in his brain off his chest.

"Wren." He poked her cheek bone to light either but Wren only furrowed her brows and continued to ignore the way his chin dug in with the pronunciation of the beginning of her name. "Wren. Wren. Wren. Wren." It continued with that incessant poking and Wren didn't need to have Observational Haki to feel Ace getting more and more annoyed with each passing mention of her name and to save themselves from a telling match Wren took a deal and audible breath in through her nose.

"What is it Lu?" She mumbled cracking open an eye to the room only illuminated by the blue light coming in from the window and the ornate glow under the door.

"Can you sing me a song?" Half his face was lit with the blue light as Wren lifted her own head up off the floor to give him a befuddled questioning look with one of her eyebrows raised. Where had this come from? None of the nights previous to this one had he ever asked for anything like that, he was usually out like a light the moment he wrapped his arms around her.

Flopping her head back down to the floor, wincing as it hit the thin pillow harder then she planned so she could feel the hard flooring beneath it. "Where'd you get that idea?" Her question was breathless as she closed her eyes and listened quietly as Ace wrenched around on his side of the room obviously trying his hardest to block out their conversation since neither of them were attempting to be quiet.

Wren couldn't help but smile to herself on the inside getting some joy out of disturbing Ace's slumber.

Luffy still hadn't responded to her question, so picking her head back up Wren cracked open her left eye to see the younger boy resting the left side of his face against her chest as his hand played with the frayed end of their shared thin blanket. "You okay there Lu?" She hoped her voice didn't sound as tired and half asleep as she felt.

"It's dumb." His voice was quiet and mu,bled so Wren had to strain her ears to pick it up.

Wiggling her arms free from where they were locked against her body by Luffy's own arms, one of her hands came up to softly pet the top of Luffy's head while the other rubbed up and down his back in soothing motions. "Try me kid." By this time she was more than half awake so it would be a struggle to force herself to sleep at this point.

His chin went back to digging into her sternum, "I heard a boy mention to his sister he loved it when he sang to her at night."

Ah, so that was where he got the idea. It had to have happened when the two of them got separated in the rush of the crowd so while Wren was running into Roxy, Luffy was just walking around Grey Terminal listening in to other conversations before finding Ace and taking off after him and Sabo.

Her mama was never one for singing lullabies to get her to sleep and off the top of her head Wren couldn't remember or even imagine her papa singing her any either. So that only left Charlotte's memories of songs from the Before as the only one Wren knew in this life was Bink's Sake and that wasn't entirely appropriate for kids as young as they were.

But she would need time and peace to even try to remind herself of what it was like to be Charlotte and try to jog the memories Charlotte had of the songs she used to listen to in the Before. Tedious stuff and not something she could do tonight with no preparations. "Tomorrow." She hummed stopping her hands from rubbing reassuringly on Luffy's head and back staring up at the ceiling as her mind started planning how she could go about searching through Charlotte's memories.

To Luffy though, that was as good as promising him you would give him your share of meat if his reaction of starry eyes and a large open mouth grin. "You really mean it!" His voice was full of excitement and Wren couldn't help but roll her eyes at his reaction.

Shifting her upper body to get in a better position to sleep for the night Wren freed both her hands to rub at her eyes as she let out a large yawn, "I promise." He let out a hollar before Wren could shush him "But," her voice was final, "only if you go to sleep now."

"Okay!" He still hadn't quieted his voice and didn't seem to notice that it was to loud for that time for night. "You're the bestest big sister ever Wren. I love you." He nuzzled his face into her chest letting out a noise of contentment as he finally settled down for the night not realizing just what type of shock his words had sent through Wren's system.

Never in her wildest dreams could she had predicted the words out of his mouth, he loved her and admitted as such out loud and to her with no prompting. Even her own mama rarely ever said the words out loud to Wren herself growing up and it was like pulling teeth to get the woman to even say the words but with Luffy, the kid wore his heart on his sleeve and was so free with his emotions. And in her mind, Wren hadn't done much in the time they had spent together, the odd adventure here and there that took them in the opposite direction of Ace, but Luffy hadn't know nor did he need to know about that fact, and yet none of that mattered to him.

It was...humbling.

Wrapping her own arms around Luffy in a tight grip, Wren mumbled into his hair as he let out a soft snore, "I love you too kid." She smile an honest and full smile, "Don't ever forget that."

* * *

Nights on Dawn Island were...strange to put it lightly. Especially once the island past the halfway point of its summer months and headed for fall.

They could drop down to where dew would form on the windows even during the summer months and the bandit's hut that they lived in did not have the best insulation, at least in the room they were set up in that was true she didn't know about the rest of the building as she never stayed in any other room.

Wren was lucky that she had Luffy who could be like a human furness so she didn't struggle at night with only the think blanket the bandits had provided the young boy in question and Ace, they had never actually given her anything to sleep on or with at night but she couldn't complain because she had Luffy who was more then willing to share everything he had with her and Ace who she was more then willing to steal from an example being his shirts.

This night was one of those night where the cold seemed to seep into the room, creeping like a tiger on its prey, the three of them being the prey in this case.

From her spot staring at the ceiling from being unable to get to sleep after Luffy's admittance that he loved her she could easily hear the ruffling of fabric as Ace flipped from side to side and how his teeth chattered from the dropping temperature in the room.

How either of these boys survived in the story before she came around, Wren would never know.

But, that wasn't her problem now so carefully so she didn't get a crick in her neck or pull a muscle she simply titled her head to the side to stare at the wall on the opposite side of the room from where Ace had set his bed up for the night and just let her mind wander to see if she could get any hint of any song from the Before in Charlotte's life.

The only downside of being awake at that late of point in the night was most sounds were amplified in the silence, what would have been a nice breezing sound during the day become a howling storm and branches brushing the side of the hut became branches battering the sides trying to knock the building over.

And the sounds of Ace retching back and forth, his teeth chattering as his body felt the full effect of the cold seeping into the room and being not as lucky as Wren was to have the extra body heat.

It was ironic that the man who would be nicknamed for his devil fruit abilities centered around flames, fire and heat was a little boy who was freezing because he couldn't combat the cold.

It was ironic...and quite sad.

Furrowing her brows as she contemplated her next actions, Wren was conflicted in what to do.

On one hand, she was still angry at Ace for almost killing her and Luffy by knocking that tree over so it would roll down the hill and flatten them but on the other hand she also knew what it was like to freeze at night after all there had been a bad snow storm that had hit Volca one summer, straight out of the blue as her mama would say, that no one had been prepared for in fact, the night it hit, Wren's mama had left all the windows in the house opened as it had been quite warm most of that day so when Wren woke up at a little past midnight her room was covered in snow and the tips of both her fingers and toes were so pale with a blue tinge and blisters had begun to form.

That reason was why she now hated be cold at any time of day, and luckily on Dawn Island it only got cold during the summer at night when she had a Luffy shaped furness keeping her warm.

She...she couldn't just let him freeze on what felt like the coldest night since she set foot on the island and she had a possible solution.

Luffy was a deep sleeper so it was no problem to gentle roll him into his back from where he had been sleeping chest to chest with Wren as the girl in question slowly and quietly padded her way over to where she dropped her bag only a handful of hours before, unzipping it and pulling the soft brown fabric out.

She could feel the heated gaze on her back as she stood crouched over her bag, rubbing the fabric between her fingers. It would be just as easy to keep the blanket for herself to spite Ace, wrap herself up like a cocoon and go back to sleep with Luffy...but she could also be the bigger person and hand the blanket over to Ace as an olive branch and she a dove holding it.

Her pride said to keep it but her concious said to hand it over and on this night her conscious won the battle.

Padding her way over to Ace, her footsteps silent as she made her way over to the freckled face boy who visible tensed when he saw her coming his way, the blanket clenched in one hand with a corner dragging on the dusty floor - just because she planned on giving to him for the night didn't mean it had to be clean - until she stood towering over Ace her seafoam coloured eyes meeting his gun metal grey ones.

He was trying to stare her down, intimidate her, but failing drastically as he had nothing on her mama who she could recall had stared her papa down into submission after he had gotten a bit too zealous in their haki training back on the island when she had been five or six and nearly knocked a tree over onto the roof of the house.

The man who could end a war just by showing up brought to heel by the woman barely five and a half feet tall wearing a pair of black short overalls and a red tank top and covered in dirt from working on her vegetable garden.

"What do you want creep." Ace spat at her and Wren could feel the ends of her lips pull downward at the weak insult thrown at her face between chattering teeth.

She didn't have to go through with her half formed plan, she could easily just turn around and curl up under the blanket with Luffy all night and leave Ace to battle the elements on his own. But she also knew if she didn't it would eat at her all night keeping her up even longer.

So, she tossed the blanket at his face, "I can hear you shivering from the other side of the room and it's annoying." Her voice was very deadpan and did nothing to hide how tired she was. "I want it back in the morning." She spun on her heel ignoring the flailing arms as Ace tried to untangle himself from the fabric feeling that heated gaze on her back yet again but ignoring it with every step as it was either too early in the morning or too late at night to have an argument with that stubborn brat.

Flopping back down beside Luffy, Wren made a point of turning on her side so Ace could only stare at her back and wrapped her arms around Luffy pulling him in close. She could deal with Ace when the sun was finally out and with pointedly closing her eyes she willed herself to sleep.

* * *

A/N:

So...I've had this done for a month or two now and just haven't felt like updating at all.

As much as I enjoy writing Wren's story, I haven't felt the motivation to even start the next chapter so I honestly have no idea when the next chapter will be. I'm hoping to have it done by the end of the year or beginning part of January.

No promises though.


	11. The Parting Glass (Ed Sheeran)

"What the fuck." Wren can't help it that those are her first words out of her mouth so early in the morning spoken not as a question but full of disbelief as her eyes survey the room in front of her and Luffy.

As they take in the torn fabric scattered around the room with select pieces spelling the words ' _FUCK OFF_ ' and Wren can feel her blood start to boil.

She had made it a point not to swear around Luffy for as long as she could, and to give herself props she did make it a little over two weeks since she dropped her last verbal bomb.

It was part of her own personal training while on the Red Force surrounded by people who thought she was a sweet and innocent child not realizing that, according to her mama since she had no memory of it, one of her first words was 'dumbass' and wouldn't that has given the crew of the Red Force a collective heart attack should they have learned.

But this, this she was willing to drop her silent oath at the brazen and hate filled action.

"Woah." Luffy's voice was breathless as he padded into the room a few steps ahead of where Wren stood stock still with a puddle of water forming under her from her bath only a handful of moments before. "What happened?"

It wasn't hard to figure that question out.

Ace had been 'asleep' on his cot still covered by the blanket Wren had thrown at him during the night, but she had known better thanks in part to her Observation Haki telling her he was really awake and just laying them pretending to sleep, but she had ignored him in favour of stealing Luffy away to the bathroom so that they could wash off the activities of the day previous from their bodies.

There was dust in her hair, and it bothered her endlessly.

She had expected Ace to have disappeared by the time they got back, made it a point to take extra long washing up even if it annoyed a handful of bandits who wanted to use the only bathroom in the hut but they scurried away when she turned her hardened gaze on them.

She hadn't expected him to tear up the blanket.

"It's nothing." Wren strode forward and made a point of dragging her foot through the fabric spelt words eliminating them from existence. "Come on, let's get dressed then we'll go get some food."

If there was anything to pull Luffy from whatever he was focusing on it was mentioning food, meat in particular he would be at that person's side in a heartbeat with big wide eyes and a mouth going a mile a minute repeating the word 'meat'.

There was a burnt orange colour shirt on the floor, obviously one of Ace's, that she threw on as quickly as she threw her red hair up into a high ponytail and tied her ever present royal purple bandana around her neck in a loose and easily undone knot.

For once, she was the one dragging Luffy from their shared room hoping that she would be able to catch Ace in the living room/dining room area of the hut where everyone sat and ate their meals.

There was an unspoken agreement between Wren and the bandits; she didn't interact with them outside of meals and they provided those meals silently and without question even if it was only the simple bowl of white rice.

So when she strode right up to Dadan, who was both in the middle of a conversation and her meal, and let Luffy go get the food he was still chanting about as all talk ceased as the older woman with the orange coloured hair finally took notice of Wren standing in front of her with what she hoped was serious yet obviously angry look on her face.

"What do you want brat." It was more a statement then a question as Dadan's voice, drenched in the stench of alcohol hit Wren's senses but the girl in questioned never faltered.

There was such a stark difference between this woman and her papa when it came to the morning after drinking most of the night away. Where her papa always made the point of brushing his teeth and washing his mouth out so Wren could never smell the alcohol on his breath, Dadan and her bandits never made the point of doing so.

"Where's Ace." There were three ways she knew Ace wasn't in the building anymore. The first was just from not seeing hide nor hair of him when she walked through the hut, the second being the lack of daggers being burned into her back so he obviously wasn't hidden in the room among the bandits and the third was the fact that with a shirt burst of Observation Haki Wren couldn't find his aura anywhere in the building.

From the corner of her eye Wren could see Luffy plop down on the floor beside her but she never broke eye contact with Dadan even as the woman was obviously trying to intimidate her into backing off.

She never grew up with one Foley Tifa and compared to that woman Dadan was nothing more than a small rat dog barking at anything bigger than it

Dadan shoved a forkful of what looked like bacon and hash browns in her mouth, "Why do you care. You got a crush or something." She didn't wait to be down chewing before speaking, spattering food and spit on the ground with each syllable.

Ignoring the comment about even liking Ace, Wren could feel her expression drop even more if that was possible, where the woman even got that ridiculous notion was beyond even Wren's comprehension. The young red-haired girl could count on one hand the amount of time she and Ace had spent in each others presence outside of sleeping hours where they had to share a room.

"Why do you care." She deadpanned back absentmindedly pushing the offered bowl of food from Luffy back towards the raven-haired boy and continued staring down the much taller woman. "Where did he go." There was an assertive tone in her voice, her anger slipping out even as she tried to reign it in.

Dadan turned away from her, shoving more food in her mouth and taking a swig of her drink, "Out." Was her annoyed response to Wren's own. "Now leave me alone brat."

Turning on her heel, her hair whipping back from the force almost hitting her in the side of the face from just how long it was getting from where it was sitting in the high ponytail she had it in. "Let's go, Lu." She didn't even wait for the younger boy to get up and follow her and was almost at the door by the time he was even up on his feet.

Her own wooden soled foot meeting the front door to force it open and the first obvious evidence of just how angry she was as the black receded from her leg as she strode over the once ventricle standing door that was now lying horizontally on the damp ground.

Closing her eyes and casting out her senses to try and find Ace since he couldn't have gotten far enough to escape her Observation Haki abilities.

There were many animals in the area around them, the most obviously dangerous and should be avoided at all cost animal was the large cat - her money was on it being a tiger from the shape and lack of mane - about a kilometer away to the northwest.

A red human shaped aura dashed its way over to her side and from the shape of it Wren knew it was Luffy catching up to her with one hand holding his - her papa's and the late pirate king's - straw hat to his head so it didn't fly off in his rush to catch up to her.

But there, about three kilometers away to the south, was an orange aura standing underneath a deep blue aura who was crouching on what must of have been a tree branch from the way it was moving up and down and a hand kept being shot out and held against something sturdier.

It wasn't hard for her to guess just who those two were, and her assumption was further solidified by the fact both human shaped auras, boys, were holding staffs on their persons.

"Why are your eyes closed Wren?" Luffy's voice was right in her ear and Wren could feel a flinch travel up the length of her body as her eyes shot open and she had to clench her fist and dig her nails in to her palm to stop herself from shooting Luffy a heated glare not meant for him. His expression lit up, "Are we playing a game!"

A game. That could work in her favor.

Since Luffy liked Ace it wouldn't do her any good to find Ace with Luffy in tow. A game though, if she claimed to be playing a game and Luffy took off in a different direction then where she would be going it would benefit her greatly so she could meet up with Ace, no Luffy around, and deal with the older brat without ruining her relationship with the younger boy.

"Yeah." Her voice was distant as she stared ahead. "We're gonna play a game of hide and seek." She lost that distant tone in her voice as her words came out crisp and to the point. "You go hide and I'll count to one hundred before coming to find you."

"Okay!" Came his exuberant response and she hasn't even gotten to three before he had completely disappeared, swallowed whole by the forest around them.

A quick burst of Observation Haki told her just what she needed to know, he had gone in the complete opposite direction that Ace and Sabo were in, almost in the direction that she knew that large cat was hunting in.

He would be fine. He had survived getting separated from her the day before, had survived the days he spent alone before she showed up and from Charlotte's memories of the Before that she now had, he would survive like he did in the original story.

With fire licking the corners of her eyes, Wren took off in the direction she knew the other two boys were in.

Ace was going to pay for what he did.

* * *

For not being that much older than her, those two boys could cover a huge amount of ground just by themselves and every time Wren thought she was getting closer to them they would always be just that bit out of her reach.

By the time she caught up to them, the sun was high in the sky and the heat was beating down on them making her mood significantly worse and increasing both her annoyance and her anger towards Ace.

Sabo would be clear of her wrath; he hadn't done anything wrong and she couldn't go off on him now since Wren didn't know him outside of what Charlotte's memories had supplied over the years.

Both boys were sitting in a large tree, crouching more then sitting, with their backs to her with their two pipes tied to their backs to keep them out of the way when the boys didn't plan on using them.

Untying her bandana and quickly retrying it to keep the stray strands of hair that had fallen from her ponytail up and out of her face, she strode to the base of the tree, coated her foot and her leg just above her knee in Armament Haki, reared her leg back and, with all her might, roundhouse kicked the tree, hearing a mighty crack as she did, and watched as the whole thing shook nearly causing both boys to go tumbling off.

"Ace!" She hollered up the tree, the Armament Haki receding slowly from her leg and starting to form on her right hand even as she tried her best to will in completely away. "Get down here you ungrateful brat!" She narrowed her eyes as she met what Ace thought to be an equally heated gaze, but he was sorely mistaken on that part.

Sabo was smartly inching away from Ace as Wren and the raven-haired boy stared each other down.

"What do you want, creep." He shot at Wren as he stood to his full height, which wasn't much taller than Wren's own height, pulling the staff from his back and jumping down from the thick tree branch both he and Sabo had been on coming to stand just a mere foot away from her with an annoyed look on his face bordering on being angry.

"That blanket." She spat between gritted teeth as she clenched her fist tight and willed the Armament Haki to recede. Now was not the time for them to see someone use Haki. "Why'd you rip it up." She eliminated that distance between them coming to stand with her toes touching his own and her chest touching his, feeling each breath he took.

"Why do you care, creep." His voice was full of venom as he spat his words at Wren.

That got her hackles raised, "Why do I care." She jabbed a finger into his chest with a bit more force than necessary causing Ace tossing stumble back from the force, yet she continued following him with each stubble backwards he took her finger jabbing every few seconds. "Why do I care." Her voice got steadily louder with each word and she wouldn't have been surprised if they could hear her all the way over in Foosha Village but right now she didn't care. "Because, you ungrateful brat, it was a gift to me. And the only reason I gave it to you is because you were so pitiful last night." She seethed feeling her blood still boiling as she pictured the once soft and whole but now ruined blanket. Sure she might have gotten it from some weird woman but it was still a gift and her mama taught her that even if she didn't like a gift from someone she had to use it at least once and with this one she hadn't even gotten the chance.

"I don't need your pity." He screamed back in her face, spit hitting Wren on her cheek and narrowly missing her right eye. "And I don't need no shitty sister, you fucking creep."

Wren knew she was the type of person to be level-headed about ninety percent of the time with only a few outlying situations where her anger would flare, and she would do something rash. One of the first instances of that anger was when she was four and broke that kid's nose back on Volca for insulting her mother. There had been a time about a month or so after that when that kid whose nose she broke found a bigger friend to try and hang up on her with but that encounter ended much the same as the one previous to it.

This was the third time she let her anger fully manifest.

She didn't know one hundred percent what word it was that set her off, if she had to guess it would have been either Ace calling her a 'shitty sister' or a 'fucking creep', but she knew that her blood was boiling and she was seeing red before her mind clouded over and the next thing she knew was Ace was on his side on the ground, one hand held to his face as blood slowly trickled down his chin from his mouth, staring up at her with fire in his eyes as she slowly drew back her hand, she was half surprised there wasn't an Armament Haki coating on it, from the proper follow through position it was in after she obviously, having put the pieces together, punched Ace in his face.

She didn't even try to help him up, she didn't even attempt a half hearted apology, just shot Sabo a look that froze him in place as he stepped on a dry branch and broke it as he attempted to get closer to her and Ace.

Turning on her heel, Wren all but stomped away from the duo, fingers still clenched tight into fist, only turning back to catch the rock thrown at the back of her head by an Ace that was now standing up right with a look of pure surprise on his face as Sabo failed to hold him back from throwing the rock.

She could have retaliated, should have even, but he wasn't even worth it this point so she just dropped the rock, ignoring how it now have five perfect indents from her fingers, to the ground and stalked off into the forest in search of Luffy.

* * *

Maybe...maybe she acted too rashly, maybe she should have tried better to reign in her temper. It was only a blanket after all and there was no use getting so mad over Ace ripping it up, she hadn't even used it yet so for all she knew it was terrible at doing its job.

Wren plopped herself down on a tree stump, pulling her hair out of the ponytail it was still in and methodically pulling it back up, so no strains were in her face as she mulled over her thoughts.

It did both her and Luffy no good if Ace was nothing but angry with them, and her punching him did nothing to soften him up to them it only worked to push him farther away, but she had just been so mad and it seemed like the best reaction at the time.

Sighing to herself and wiping away the thin layer of sweat on her brow, Wren angled her head up to look at the sky as she heard a flock of birds flying over head.

How nice it would be to just fly away from her problems like those birds could, how nice would it be to just leave this island whenever she wanted with whoever she wanted to take with her.

Except, she wasn't a bird and she couldn't fly away from any of her problems or her mistakes, she had to stay here and deal with them herself and if that meant swallowing her pride and apologizing to Ace then she would have to do it.

Sometime.

Just, not now.

Pulling her bandana back over her head to cover the top of it, Wren sent out a short burst of Observation Haki to find Luffy only a couple dozen meters behind her in a tree, crouching down and trying to hide himself in the leaves.

An apology to Ace could wait, the boy could use some humbling in her opinion, right now she could focus on Luffy and making sure that the rest of the day with Luffy was better than the first half dealing with Ace.

She also needed to replace the destroyed blanket when she got back to the hut, maybe she'd borrow a jacket or blanket from one of the bandits. What's the worse they could do, hurt her? she's already proven that she can bend metal with he bare hands and they already keep a wide berth from her since then so she can assume no one will question her taking something of theirs.

After all, what is the chance it was even theirs to start with; they were bandits.

* * *

Shitty Garp, dropping first Luffy into the bandit's life and probably dropping the Creep on them as well, dropping them into Ace's life.

Ace can't help but grumble as he stalks through the dense forest, his hand tightening and loosening his grip on the shale shape of his pipe as Sabo, smartly, followed behind at a safe distance watching out for the two of them like Ace should have been doing but he was to distracted by the two brats occupying his room back at the hut.

He can already picture the two of them, Luffy all but worshipping the ground the Creep walks on, always there as it's shadow with that big stupid grin on his face as the Creep watches with those freaky eyes it has, watching each move someone made and never backing down even as it was obvious that he was stronger then it.

He can't help but use his free hand to rub at his throbbing cheek, his tongue behind his thin lips slowly brushing over his upper row of teeth and getting caught on the new empty space that had been created when the Creep got a lucky cheap shot it.

If he had been properly prepared, he would have been able to dodge the punch.

Sneering at the mere memory of it, of one second being standing toe to toe with the Creep, staring done those creepy looking soulless eyes and the next second his face being in so much pain and laying on his side on the ground staring up at those creepy eyes.

One of the jungle animals, a small rat like thing that doesn't eat meat, scurries by him out of the way as he wildly swings his metal pipe to knock away a branch hanging low and in his face.

Vaulting over the last hurdle, his muscles and legs burning with the stretch, he breaks through the foliage coming to the top of a cliff overlooking the sea, waves hitting the rocks below and shooting up high enough that he gets hit with the mist from the impact.

It won't be long now until both he and Sabo have amassed enough money to leave this rock, to live by no ones rules but their own, no expectations to love up too, no pressure to be something he's not, and no shitty Garp or his shitty grandson.

But more importantly, no shitty Creep watching his every move and giving him pity presents. Or ruining his day so badly that he didn't even get a chance to go find treasure

Out there, on the high sea, he can just be Portgas D. Ace, son of no one, he can just be known as who he is living under no one's shadow but his own. He can just be the boy who dreams of freedom, of making a name for himself by his own actions and he doesn't need anyone to help him with that.

Except, maybe Sabo.

It was as obvious as the day was long that the blonde-haired boy, coming to sit beside him as they watched the sun start to set over the horizon, was from a background of privilege. The way he knew about certain items Ace would have just called junk and tossed over his shoulder, how was he supposed to know that the fancy paperweight he carelessly overlooked was from some guy who died over a hundred years ago, the way he would hesitate before joining in to search through the trash that the people behind the wall through into Grey Terminal, but the most damning evidence from when Ace first met him was how soft the blonde's hands were, they were the hands of someone who never had to fight to live, to survive in this world.

But the blonde pulled his own weight so Ace was willing to overlook his past and never asked about it, much like how Sabo never asked about his.

"How's the face?" Comes Sabo's question. Its innocent in intent, that much Ace knows about his friend and as such he holds back from hitting his own friend in the face to give him a matching bruise on the opposite cheek. That, and his pride won't let him reveal to the other boy just how much the punch hurt.

He has taken down men four times as height and five times as wide by himself and here he was knocked to the ground by some creep that didn't even come up to his chin and had to look up to stare him down.

So, while holding back as much heat in his voice that he can, he shapely retorts, "'s fine." He pointedly ignored how each time he moves his mouth that shoots another jolt of pain up his face and he has to bite his tongue to stop from crying out.

He'll get the Creep back tenfold one of these days.

"You sure?"

Shooting up to his feet, knuckles white from his grip on the shaft of his pipe, he spins on his heel leaving Sabo to scramble after him. "Let's go." He shoots down Sabo's line of questioning with that short and sharp statement.

There was still enough time in the day to go hunting and possibly bag one of the tigers that prowl the forest around the bandit's but so that he can have some meat in tonight's meal.

Because the stupid crybaby that is Garp's biological grandson can't hunt to save his life and he's never seen the Creep hunt anything since it showed up.

* * *

When he gets back to the hut dragging a wild boar behind him for Dadan to skin, cut up, and cook, he kicks open the wooden door, the top half coming undone so it hangs at precarious angle inward and almost hits one of the taller bandits in the forehead.

He had split with Sabo not long ago, the other boy having head for Grey terminal after they finished counting the amount of treasure they amassed so far, it's almost enough for him and Sabo to buy a small ship, just something to get them off this rock before they can start collecting more treasure and gaining a crew of their own.

He can already picture himself and Sabo standing side by side with a faceless crew standing intimidating crew standing behind them, willing to die for them at any moment and holding weapons bigger than they were tall.

What he doesn't expect is the delicious aroma that hits his nose the second he steps over the threshold.

He absentmindedly tosses the boar he caught at the bandit that almost got smacked in the head, his nose leading him further into the hut, into the kitchen to be exact where a simple bowl sat on the large table with the barest hint of steam still rising from whatever was in it.

Eyeing the bandits with fiery glares from the corner of his eyes, Ace stands on the tips of his toe and can just barely get his hands around the still warm bowl, not hot enough that it burns him but just hot enough he can feel it through the clay the bowl is made from.

If there is one thing the bandits have taught him, if one could even call it that, is to take everything from anyone because if they were careless enough to leave it alone then they didn't deserve it.

So even in the bandit's own hut he had no shame in steal from them.

The stew, because he could tell it was one, was littered with various vegetables, gross but he could eat around them, sitting in a brown liquid with mystery meat bobbing up and down as said liquid sloshed around the bowl with each time he moved.

Dipping a finger into the liquid and swirling it around, he pulled it out just to stick it in his mouth.

The explosion of taste almost caused him to drop the bowl.

But the sounds of Garp's crybaby grandson screaming in joy from somewhere in the back of the hut ruined his mood almost instantly.

Pocketing a wooden spoon from the drawer of various spoons, he doesn't look back as the door completely falls over as he heads into the woods around the hut, positioning himself in one of the large trees just outside what was once his own personal room before the other brats showed up.

He watches as both brats come back into the room, Garp's grandson racing ahead as naked as the day he was born with spuds covering small portions of his body and the red haired creep comes in with its hair wrapped up in a towel wearing yet another of his shirts carrying some sort of fabric in its arms.

He shoves another spoonful of food in his mouth, grimacing as he bites into a carrot but swallows it begrudgingly.

Watching as the Creep tries to wrangle the crybaby into some clothes for the night, he pointedly turns the other way when Creep lifts his ruined, because it wore it, off its body to replace it with another of his shifts after getting it soaked while trying to get the crybaby into his clothes for the night.

He goes to shove another spoonful of food in his mouth only to find the bowl now empty, not even half a spoonful left sitting in the bottom so he chucks the bowl somewhere into the forest, not even turning to look when he hears it shatter into a million pieces.

It's not his problem.

"Song. Song. Song. Song." He can hear the crybaby from his spot in the trees and his scowl deepens on his face as he watches the crybaby dance around the room before jumping on Creep and knocking it over. Their laughter coming through even the wooden walls of the hut.

"Okay, Lu." Creep's voice is quiet, and he has to strain his ears, almost falling off the branch he's sitting in from leaning so far forward, to hear it. "I've got a song my mama used to sing me, but you've got to settle in for the night before I'll start singing."

He doesn't hear much out of the room, and with the door being shut by one of the two creatures in the room and the light being shut off leaves with being unable to see what happens either. But it's not long before he hears the most wonderful sounding voice from his once private and peaceful room, his place of solitude.

" _Of all the money that e'er I had_

 _I've spent it in good company_

 _And all the harm that e'er I've done_

 _Alas it was to none but me_

 _And all I've done for want of wit_

 _To memory now I can't recall_

 _So fill to me the parting glass_

 _Good night and joy be with you all_

" _Of all the comrades that e'er I had_

 _They are sorry for my going away_

 _And all the sweethearts that e'er I had_

 _They would wish me one more day to stay_

 _But since it falls unto my lot_

 _That I should rise and you should not_

 _I'll gently rise and I'll softly call_

 _Good night and joy be with you all_

" _A man may drink and not be drunk_

 _A man may fight and not be slain_

 _A man may court a pretty girl_

 _And perhaps be welcomed back again_

 _But since it has so ought to be_

 _By a time to rise and a time to fall_

 _Come fill to me the parting glass_

 _Good night and joy be with you all_

 _Good night and joy be with you all_ "

It's almost too soon that the voice stops and all he can hear around him is the eerie silence of the forest as the wind whistles through the branches and it's not long before he starts to feel the full effects of the weather at night on the island and he's shivering, pulling his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them in hopes of staying warm.

He knows there is a perfectly good room only a few jumps away, that keeps out the cold as best it can and perfectly good bedding just waiting for him but he won't set foot in that room while Creep and the crybaby are in there and it's not because he's scared of Creep, he's not, it's just...just...just that he doesn't' want to be in there and the fact Creep hurt him has nothing to do with it.

Yes, that was it. He just didn't want to be in the room, and it wasn't because of Creep being in there with its strong punch and weird sixth sense to be able to turn around and catch a rock thrown at its head without looking. Not because he was scared of it.

Something hits him in the face, smarting his bruised side and causing him to nearly fall out of the tree if he hadn't caught himself in time.

It's a jacket, thick and heavy and definitely belonging to one of the bandits from just how large it was and looking over in the direction it was thrown from he meets the cool stare of Creep with a leveled one of his own.

They say nothing and he doesn't know how much time passes between them before Creep lifts its hands up and pulls the window back down with a thunk and disappears into the darkness of the room.

Part of him wants to rip up the jacket, much like he had the blanket it tossed him the night before, and his hands even get in the position to tear it down the middle and it is only because at that moment mother nature decided to batter him with the coldest wind that night that he finds himself dwarfed by just how large the jacket was and protected from the elements.

The jacket did a great job of keeping him warm and Ace can start to feel his eyes begin to droop as the night drags on but he never leaves his perch, never sets foot in the hut nor the room since he is fine just where he is and would fight anyone who argued differently.

He won't thank Creep in the morning, that much he's sure of, because he doesn't need its pity but he does thank the jacket for being so warm as he finally drifts off to sleep for the night, content even with the two creatures sleeping in his room and that song still playing in his head.

* * *

A/N:

Wow, been a second.

So A LOT happened in my life since the last update.

Chief among them all was the fact my father had a sudden cardiac arrest in the middle of the night and, as doctors told us later, was basically dead for twenty five minutes.

He's fine now, no organ or brain damage at all, but it has been tough this last little while and have had no inspiration to write Wren's story.

That being said, I DO plan on continuing this story it will just be slow.

As always, please remember to comment as that does help motivate me to write.


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